The Library of Legends

China, 1937: When Japanese fall on the city of Nanking, Hu Lian and her classmates at Minghua University are ordered to flee.

Lian and a convoy of more than a hundred students, faculty, and staff must walk a thousand miles to the safety of China’s western provinces, a journey marred by hunger, cold, and the threat of aerial attack.

And it is not just the student refugees who are at risk: Lian and her classmates have been entrusted with a priceless treasure, a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends.

Within the convoy, Lian finds friendship and romance with handsome Liu Shaoming.

But after one classmate is murdered and another arrested, Lian must escape before a family secret puts her in danger.

Accompanied by Shao and his maidservant Sparrow, Lian makes her way to Shanghai, hoping to reunite with her mother.

On the journey, Lian learns of the connection between her two companions and a tale from the Library of Legends, The Willow Star and the Prince.

Learning Shao and Sparrow’s true identities compels Lian to confront her feelings for Shao.

But there are broader consequences too, for as the ancient books travel across China, they awaken immortals and guardian spirits to embark on an exodus of their own, one that changes the country’s fate forever.