Mark Kitto China Running Dog

A young man in his early twenties has two basic needs: mates and respect. And a third of course. That's a given and it was there for the taking in Shanghai in the year 2000, a greed-crazed free-for-all in a moral and lawless vacuum created by the Chinese Communist Party. Johnny Trent, small-time entrepreneur from Basildon in the UK, has neither mates nor respect. That's why he went to China, where he meets Felix Fawcett-Smith, fresh off the boat and from the other side of the tracks. An unlikely friendship begins. Johnny impresses the well-bred Felix with his street smarts until Felix takes Johnny's advice too literally - and too far - and slip into Shanghai's murky underbelly. He enters a world where the Party and power and connections to them are all that matter, where criminals are given sainthoods and saints sent to hell. Johnny tries to stop Felix's spiral, not least because Felix is taking a sweet, angelic girl, Anita, down with him and Johnny has feelings for Anita that he has never dared to put into words. But Felix thinks he knows best. Like Johnny, all he wants is respect. He gets a lot more, a lot worse. It's up to Johnny to save whoever he can, besides himself. "A hilarious, racy, cautionary tale. A magnificent story, and a must-read for anybody who wishes to see how a totalitarian society works." -Adam Williams, author of The Emperor's Bones