China, 1926. Jake Greenberg, an American living in Shanghai, arrives in Manchouli, a dusty little city straddling the Chinese-Russian border. Jake's mission is to smuggle two Russians across the border into China. They have a secret that the communists can't allow the world to know. But, as soon as he crosses the border, he senses something is wrong. Soon, the secret police are at his door and Jake and the Russians are on the run.