"Will Kiehn is an 'ordinary man,' seemingly destined for life as a humble farmer in the Midwest, when, having felt a call from God, he moves to the vast North China Plain in 1906. There he is surprised by love and weds a strong and determined fellow missionary, Katherine, who is also a dedicated nurse. Early in their marriage Will and Katherine find themselves witnesses to the crumbling of a more than two-thousand-year old dynasty, which plunges the country into years of civil war. As they work to improve the lives of the people of Kuang P'ing Ch'eng--City of Tranquil Light, a place they come to love--they face hardships they could not have imagined: a personal loss that shakes them both to the core, the constant threat of bandits, the physical dangers and tragedies of warlord China. But while they are continually tested both spiritually and physically, they are also rewarded in ways that leave them forever changed"--Cover, p. 2.