1922. A dethroned Chinese princess flees to San Francisco after her lover entangles his family’s business with gangsters for her passage. When her lover goes missing, it’s up to her to salvage his reputation by outsmarting the gangsters and uncovering their embezzlement scheme— barely in time to save his life.

SYNOPSIS:

Characters

An (means ‘peace’), 17, daughter of the last Empress of China, on the lam from the Nationalists since 1908. She was protected and educated by her mother’s most faithful eunuch. She falls in love with an American trader, Malcolm Dross, who negotiates her passage to San Francisco.

Christopher Lewiston, 32, married to Malcolm’s sister, Flora Dross, he manages the renowned luxury import store Dross Imports, on Geary Street in San Francisco. His merchandising talents have made it one of the most popular decorative destinations for California’s upper crust.

James Watt, 26, Christopher’s right-hand man. Hard working, fiercely loyal to the company, and street smart. He questions anything that might compromise Dross Imports-- including An.

Melanie Fontaine, 32, famous actress, somewhat out of the mainstream. She’s one of Dross’s best clients, dating Eddie Sing. Smart and opportunistic.

Flora Dross-Lewiston, 29, co-owner of Dross Imports; she’s a decision-maker who operates behind the scenes. Frequent ambassador to the turbulent relationship between Christopher and Malcolm.

“Eddie” Sing, 36, leader of Hop Sing Tong, engaged in international heroin and opium import/export, as well as an ornate racketeering scheme perpetrated against Dross Imports. Dating Melanie Fontaine.

“Boxing” Jack Wei, 38, leader of established Mandarin Chinese family in San Francisco; Old World protectors of the Chinese Imperial family. Searching for An since her disappearance as a child.

Malcolm Dross, 36, overseas buyer for Dross Imports, he fell in love with An in Shanghai during one of his acquisition trips. He takes responsibility to get her safely to San Francisco, but under great peril to himself and his business.

Overview

A Prohibition Era Crime Drama that interfaces with the San Francisco Chinese underworld through a romantic entanglement between cultures. The centerpiece, Dross Imports, is loosely based on the history of Gumps, luxury importer of primarily Asian goods since 1861, closed in December 2018. Additionally, there is an undercurrent of racism toward Chinese further propagated by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Synopsis

Chinese Nationalists have pursued An since she escaped their capture as a child, but not before slicing off four of her fingers. It was an act of reverse homage to her vain empress mother, whose long gold fingernail-covers were her trademark. A sick joke to mark her only living child. After a decade, the Nationalists found her. With the help of her American lover, Malcolm Dross, and just ahead of her executioners, she boards a ship for California. Malcolm entrusts her eunuch protector, but must stay behind to settle with Shanghai gangsters for the price of her passage. He promises to follow, but when her protector perishes on their sinking ship in the San Francisco Bay, all An has is a name, Dross Imports.

Nearly sold into prostitution at the pier, she recognizes Malcolm’s brother-in-law, Christopher, as he laments a broken bowl from his antiques shipment. Breaking away, she desperately runs to him. Knowing all Malcolm taught her, she assures him not to worry, it’s a forgery. Taken under Dross’s unsuspecting wing and back to their warehouse, she discovers many of their recent imports are also counterfeit. This casts doubt on Malcolm, their sole overseas antiques buyer, now vanished. Christopher is grateful for her expertise, though Jim, his right-hand man, thinks An is a little too convenient.

Keeping her relationship secret, but knowing she must clear Malcolm’s name, An pledges to find the criminals behind the erroneous objects. She sneaks into the Dross workshop and finds evidence of internal wrongdoing. It’s not long before she witnesses two workers stealing and follows them to a notorious Tong hideout. There, she uncovers a conspiracy where fine reproductions are secretly swapped with Dross’s ancient Chinese inventory, divesting it of hundreds of thousands of dollars. But before she can get back with this information to clear Malcolm’s name, they grab her.

The Tongs don’t know An’s royal lineage, but someone does. Avaricious Madam Yao tracks the “six-fingered girl” from Shanghai across the sea to Dross’s. Christopher knows the madam and doesn’t trust her. He turns her away claiming ignorance, but the seed is planted. He suspects An has been lying and can shed light on their counterfeit inventory and his missing brother-in-law. Searching for leads, Christopher, his hard-nosed wife, and Jim crash a dinner party hosted by a wealthy Dross client and her Tong lover. Meanwhile, An convinces her Tong guard, Sam, much abused by his employer, to help her with the promise of a wealthy payoff. Together they poison his boss, but her freedom is sidetracked when a gun battle breaks up the party and An changes hands again – this time into the Madam’s.

Catching wind of Chinatown unrest, old-world Manchu gangsters, under a vow to protect the princess and tirelessly in search of her since the wreck, join forces with the Drosses. Under cover of darkness, they rush to the dock as Madam Yao’s heavily guarded ship is bound for China at first light. The Dross men, Manchu gangsters and Sam descend on the pier to liberate An. As the bloody battle greases the ship’s deck, An fights hand to hand with the vicious madam below. When the battle-worn men get to her, she has slain her captor and stands in a pool of gore.

The embezzlement scheme exposed and An under protection of the Manchus, Malcolm finally returns – with a calculated surprise that covers all the family’s losses. An and Malcolm reunited, she has the power to decide her future.