Two rivals from opposing gangs grow dangerously close in this dazzling YA debut set in 1940s San Francisco Chinatown.

Beneath the neon glare of postwar San Francisco, Chinatown is ruled by two rival crime families. East Phoenix deals in secrets and stealth, West Dragon in fists and fear. But both empires are bleeding money, and the fragile truce between them frays by the day.

As the daughter of Chinatown’s most powerful crime boss, Alexis Sung can do almost anything, except join the family business. When her first job for East Phoenix goes wrong, her father shuts her out for good. Across town, Zachary Ren—a brilliant orphan raised by West Dragon—is desperate to escape a life he never chose. Their paths were never meant to cross again, not after he destroyed Alexis’s one shot to prove herself.

That changes when a daring heist surfaces—one with a bounty big enough to save both families from ruin. Defying her father’s orders, Alexis seizes the chance to redeem herself by striking an uneasy alliance with Zachary. As old wounds reopen and new sparks catch, survival means trusting the last person she thought she would.

About the Author

Kyla Zhao had her first women’s magazine byline at the age of sixteen, writing about weddings for Harper’s Bazaar Singapore before she’s even had her first kiss.

Since then, she has also written for the Singapore editions of Vogue and Tatler—experiences which that helped shape the settings in this book.

A native Singaporean, Kyla now works in Silicon Valley after graduating from Stanford University in 2021 with an MA in communications and BA in psychology.

She’s still trying to understand why Californians adore hiking and Patagonia fleeces so much.