Canton 1833 Walter Eastmen and Gideon Chase, young Americans working in the 'Factories' - home of the East India Company on the south China coast - are at loggerheads with the European community which thrives on the opium trade When the first Opium War breaks out their lives grow increasingly dangerous and diverse and eventually the white Cantonese community packs its bags and moves to Hong Kong to found a new trading empire Shortlisted for the 1986 Booker Prize