Sergeant Steele stands on the ramparts of the Citadel in Lang Son, watching with growing unease as Japanese troops patrol the narrow streets and artillery points menacingly at his small French Foreign Legion unit. Under the uneasy truce between the French Vichy government and Japanese forces in Indochina, tensions are about to erupt into all-out war.

On March 9, 1945, the Japanese launched a coup d'état, Meigo Sakusen (Operation Bright Moon), attacking French garrisons across the country as Japan faced inevitable defeat in World War II. Despite Steele's warnings, senior French officers enter a deadly trap at a Japanese-hosted dinner, leaving Steele and his battle-hardened troops to resist overwhelming odds.

Witnessing the massacre of prisoners along the riverbanks, Steele's unit must fight through Japanese lines to link up with surviving French units at Son La and Dien Bien Phu. Separated from the main column, Steele leads his men through enemy territory, battling hunger, disease, and dense jungle, while pursued by relentless Japanese forces.

Their mission: hold off the Japanese long enough for French Regulars and civilians to escape to China.

Based on historical facts and firsthand survivor accounts, this novel vividly depicts the brutal Japanese coup and the Legionnaires' extraordinary courage. Steele's eternal feud with his nemesis, Jean—now leading a Japanese unit—adds another layer of peril. As gunfire erupts ahead, Steele wonders how many of his men will make it to China. The march to safety has begun, and it will be one hell of a journey.