Janie Chang’s historical fiction is always delightful on multiple levels; I learn new tidbits about history even as I get to read about star-crossed romances and young people trying to find their own way amid war and upheaval. The love stories and protagonists in this book are perfectly enjoyable to read about, but for me the surprise was the focus on the Chinese Labour Corps, which I had no idea existed. The Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) was composed of thousands of Chinese laborers sent to aid the British and French governments during WWI, performing essential frontline work such as loading and unloading materials, clearing trenches, and repairing roads; after the war, they were required to stay on for cleanup, recovering bodies and refill the trenches. CLC workers were cheap labor and treated as such, and many fell ill. At the conclusion of their terms of service, most were shipped home, but a few thousand stayed in France and seeded what would become later Chinese communities. The events in Chang’s book directly around the protagonists strain belief a bit, but the glimpse that she creates into the role of Chinese on the Western Front was very eye-opening and well done.