Layne Wong is a novelist interested in writing through a cultural lens. She is third-generation Chinese-American; her husband is of Jewish heritage. Exploring this union in the context of history was the inspiration behind Shanghai Love. She was selected for the prestigious AFI TV writer’s program. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in English Literature and lives in Southern California with her husband.

Peilin is betrothed to Kwan Yao, the only son of a wealthy pearl farmer. Months before their wedding, Yao is killed by the Japanese in the Nanjing Massacre—but the Kwans insist on proceeding with the wedding anyway, and beautiful Peilin is married to a ghost husband. When an uncle passes away, the Kwans send Peilin to Shanghai to manage their family’s herbal shop. Meanwhile, in Berlin, Henri graduates from medical school just as Hitler rises to power. Henri flees to Shanghai, where he’s befriended by Ping, a young disfigured rickshaw driver—and Peilin’s brother. When Ping introduces Henri to Peilin, Henri becomes fascinated with Chinese herbs and the exotic culture surrounding him—and falls in love with Peilin. The gripping tale of an unlikely love in a tumultuous time and place, Shanghai Love is a classic story of love’s triumph over adversity.