It is 1884 and France is at war with China. Stuart Sutherland-Bruce returns to England after being posted to China as a member of the English diplomatic corps. He meets the astonishingly beautiful Bian, an exotic woman who turns his life upside down with her mystery and the power of his desire for her.

But Bian did not wander into Stuart's life accidentally. She has orders to become intimate with him and find proof that he has been giving English secrets to the Chinese. Yet as she works her spell on Stuart, she learns he does not seem to be the traitor her superiors assure her he is. Stuart is a good man, who loves his country and puts duty above all else.

Bian is caught in a trap. If she tells Stuart who she really is, she will lose the man she loves. If she honors Stuart's highest values and does her duty, then Stuart will be tried for espionage and hanged.