The Chinese Lantern - Harry Bowling

In May 1929 two babies are born on the same day on opposite sides of the world.

In Tanners Alley in Bermondsey, Ruby Neal gives birth to a son; the birth is difficult but Ruby is happy to have given her husband the son he has hoped and prayed for. On the edge of a paddy field in Eastern China, a young woman dies giving premature birth to a girl. A travelling trader takes pity and becomes the child’s guardian, naming her Mei Li Chang.

By the time Paul and Mei Li reach their twenty-first birthdays, they could not have had more different lives, and it is only as a consequence of war that they ever meet. But when they do, they are immediately attracted to each other, despite the problems their cultural differences – and family prejudices – will bring.