Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

Leaving

Mark Salzman leaves the Hunan Province in China after a two-year stay. He is detained at the railway station because the large bag he is carrying contains sabres and swords. Although he provides documentation that he is a student of a well-known martial arts teacher and that the weapons are all gifts, the officials are still dubious. According to the railway personnel, the bag is too long and the weapons may indeed be Chinese artifacts. If the objects are artifacts, Mark cannot not leave the country.

Salzman runs into a policeman he knows who tries to convince the officials to let him through. His plane from Hong Kong to New York leaves in two days and he fears this delay may cause him to miss his flight. The policeman advises him to put on a display of his martial arts...