The savage, blood-drenched Twentieth Century starts with the Boxer Rebellion. The German emissary in Beijing is assassinated. Kaiser Wilhelm II sends troops, Fieldmarshall von Waldersee as the commander-in-chief of the international forces – and emissary Alfons Mumm von Schwarzenstein, scion of the champagne dynasty Mumm.

As this unusual man arrives in China, Beijing is plundered; the cities in the North are mere heaps of rubble and corpses float on the River Peiho. Mumm von Schwarzenstein is horrified to see what’s going on. He is acting contrary to his instructions, thus making deadly enemies. His life is permanently endangered; his friend dies under mysterious circumstances. Behind a thousand walls are a thousand secrets, some of which he can decipher.

Against all expectations, an exceptional relationship develops over time between the emissary of the German Reich and Empress-Dowager Cixi, the concubine on the Dragon Throne.

This novel about love, politics and murder describes the live of a great diplomat and that of a dazzling and unforgettable woman.

Intertwined in this story of two lonely individuals are the culture and everyday life of people in a world that no longer exists.

In this great novel about love, politics and murder, China unfolds at the turn of the century in 1900, dominated by Empress-Dowager Cixi, the concubine on the Dragon Throne, observed by the German emissary Alfons Mumm von Schwarzenstein, a diplomat of significance and a most unusual man.

Hans Dieter Schreeb, born in 1938, has been a novelist and writer of radio plays and television screenplays since 1963. He is the author of numerous novels that were published in all German-speaking countries.