About the book: 2000 / The novel is set in the mid-19th century, when European traders and adventurers made their first attempts to penetrate a fabulously rich country full of dangers and mysteries - China. These people paid with their lives for weakness, indecision and ignorance of the customs of the East. And in this ebullient time, in this exotic place, the Englishman Dirk Struan set himself the goal of turning the deserted island of Hong Kong into an indestructible stronghold of British power and rising to the pinnacle of power, becoming the supreme overlord - Tai-Pan! Unexpected plot twists, replacing each other with increasing speed, captivate the reader to a brilliant denouement unsurpassed in skill and power.