In 1956 we averted World War through diplomacy.

In 1958 we averted World War through intelligence.

In 1956 the world is on the brink of World War III. War is raging in the Middle East, the British have deceived the U.S. by attacking the Suez Canal, and the Soviets have invaded Hungary. The Soviet Union and China are the two biggest perceived threats to U.S. national security, but China remains a complete unknown. Hong Kong, a tiny British colony, not only plays a role in the global stage of the Cold War, but also is home to the largest CIA station in the world, its attention focused on China.

While the intelligence community in Hong Kong desperately tries to get its hands on credible intelligence, Edie Hardy, a precocious, adventurous, American teenager,  accidentally stumbles into an event which not only changes her life, but ultimately the course of the Cold War.

Though the characters and story in The Mooncake Messenger are entirely fiction, the details of life in Hong Kong in the 1950s, the intelligence activities there, the historical events, and the plausibility of the story are all historically accurate. To see a select bibliography of the research behind this book and learn more about the history of this time period, please visit The World in 1956-59.