Assassin's Quandary

China's intrigue filled Warring States period saw the powerful state of Qin ruthlessly vanquish the other six kingdoms through subversion, deception, bribery, assassination, and military conquest. Accordingly, in the mid third century BC near the end of their successful quest to dominate the realm, a young doctor pursuing his calling as a healer in Qin's draconian world is suddenly thrust into the role of an assassin, tasked with killing an impossible target in the nearby state of Wei. Assassin's Quandary unfolds his initial experience as an itinerant healer, which serves as his cover as well as his profession; his quest to develop a viable assassination method; his encounters with murderers and charlatans; and his emotional consternation and psychological perplexity as he becomes increasingly familiar with the man and his mesmerizing daughter Ya-lan. Written by Ralph D. Sawyer, author of the internationally acclaimed Tao of Spycraft: Intelligence Theory and Practice in Traditional China and numerous other seminal works on Chinese military strategy, and set in a historically accurate context, the contents fully reflect the era's military and political intrigue, just as the medical cases embody Warring States theory and practice.