Charles W. Le Gendre, the U.S. consul at Amoy and Formosa, travels to Taiwan to investigate the "Rover incident." To his surprise, he finds Liangkiau not under Qing government jurisdiction. He then asks William A. Pickering, Manager of the British business to pressure Qing officials to act. Meanwhile, Tiap-moe, a young woman working for William in Taiwan-fu repatriates Jie, her brother to the city. She repeatedly warns him to hide their mixed indigenous and Han Hakka identity and avoid fights.