In the shifting shadows of modern East Asia, a deep-cover Chinese intelligence operative posing as a pro-democracy academic in Taiwan must fan the flames of an imminent invasion—while secretly orchestrating a far more audacious move into Siberia to salvage China’s collapsing economy and aging society, all without triggering global financial retaliation.

SYNOPSIS:

When Red Smoke Rises follows Li Jian, a high-level Chinese operative embedded in Taipei as a literature professor and political commentator known for his vocal support of Ukraine and warnings about a Chinese assault on Taiwan. But Li's public persona is a performance—his true mission lies buried in a shadow operation codenamed “Project Frost Lantern.”

China’s economic future is in crisis. With over 300 million retirees and a collapsing property sector, Party leadership knows reform is impossible without pain. A theatrical military build-up around Taiwan distracts the world, excites nationalist fervor, and allows Beijing to suspend pensions and redirect economic blame onto international saboteurs.

But the true objective is Siberia—under-defended, rich in resources, and vulnerable while Russia is mired in Ukraine. Li's task: manipulate narratives in Taipei to keep Western eyes fixed on the Taiwan Strait, while coordinating covert logistics, financial rerouting, and gray-zone incursions into the Russian Far East.

As Li balances coded communiqués, back-channel deals with Chinese shadow banks, and encounters with Taiwanese dissidents who see through the act, he begins to unravel. Haunted by the consequences of success—millions of lives altered, hundreds of thousands sacrificed for balance sheets—he must choose between mission and morality.

Meanwhile, intelligence agencies from the U.S., Japan, and India begin to suspect that Taiwan is not the real target. A race ensues—not to stop an invasion of Taiwan, but to intercept a silent conquest of Siberia that could reshape the global order.

Part geopolitical thriller, part philosophical noir, When Red Smoke Rises explores what happens when truth itself becomes the most dangerous weapon—and the greatest cover for war is the one nobody thinks is real.