The Last Marco Polo

In 1936, when Jack Wells, a young American banker from New York City, disembarked at the dock of Shanghai, the Pearl of the Orient, little did he realize that he was about to step into one of most tumultuous periods in Chinese history. While there, he would meet a beautiful girl on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War. Together, they would undergo the bombing of Shanghai and experienced the horrors of the "Rape of Nanking." As his adventure took him to places that no longer exist and into the lives long forgotten, Jack had found his true love. But in the end, the karmas that had brought them together, history kept them apart. Such is their love story unfolding for the readers of "The Last Marco Polo."

The Last Marco Polo is a fictional love story that took place in 1937 Shanghai on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War. It is set against the background of actual historical events and places few people today know anything about. The story begins with Jack Wells took on an overseas assignment at the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in Shanghai, a city of contrasting opulence and crushing poverty. After settling into comfortable expatriate life in the French Concession part of the city, he would meet a beautiful girl at the New Hope Church, where his father was its pastor. As their mutual attractions began to germinate, war broke out between China and Japan and their lives were quickly thrown together as they tirelessly tried to find food to feed the homeless living in his father's church. Then, an unexpected turn of events forced them to travel to Nanking, where they would bear witness to the horrors of the "Nanking Massacre," when over 250,000 Chinese were killed at the hands of the Japanese soldiers in just a few weeks. As they underwent the violent events that were tearing China apart, they had shown courage and compassion in the face of death and in the process, Jack had also gained a deeper understanding of Chinese history and China's "Century of Humiliation," that is still shaping modern Chinese history today.

Love begins as it often does, with that chance encounter or that effervescent smile, but little did Jack know that their chance encounter would blossom into true love as they experienced a series of life-altering events; but in the end, the karma that had brought together, history kept them apart. Such is their love story progressively unfolding for the readers of "The Last Marco Polo."

Chen J. Ho emigrated to the United States on the eve of the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China in the early 1960s. He attended public schools in New York City, earned a Master degree in architecture and urban planning from CCNY, and an MBA in Finance from New York University. After working briefly as an architect and urban planner, he switched his career to finance, and then to real estate. He lives in Dallas, Texas.