Kit Salter and her friends Rachel, Waldo and Isaac tumble into another adventure when their coach is hijacked on the wilds of Dartmoor. Their arch enemies, the Baker Brothers, are behind the kidnapping. They force the children into a perilous voyage to China in search of a secret martial arts manual. From bustling Shanghai, their journey takes them to the hidden heart of Imperial China - Peking's Forbidden City. En route they battle opium smugglers, pirates and kung-fu fighters, before a climatic encounter with the mysterious Wooden Men, giant killers armed with lethal powers and a dastardly will of their own. Will Kit and her friends survive the danger and mysteries of China and win back their freedom? Find out in this twisting, thrilling adventure.
For such a looooooooooong book (not in number of pages, but in density of material), this book feels surprisingly unfinished. There are MANY threads left hanging by the end of the book, and those that were tied up, were tied in a convenient rush.