Wandering Dragons

About the Book

Wandering Dragons begins in a small village called Boksa, located on the banks of the Pearl River in Canton, China approximately fifteen kilometers southeast of Macao. The village was settled by Mongol raiders after breaking through the great wall. Happy with the area, a group of veterans banded together to create a new family and adopted the surname of “Mah” in honor of their great horses. One evening, during a friendly game of chance at their favorite restaurant, an accidental homicide occurred. Friends of the murderer conspired to protect him by encouraging him to assume his victim’s identity. With few alternatives, the murderer chooses to abandon his family and flees with a friend to America. After a stop in Hawaii, they arrive in San Francisco in midst of the 1850 Gold Rush. Lured by gold, they meet other landsmen with similar ambitions and form an alliance to prospect for gold. They possessed no knowledge or prior experiences for prospecting or mining, but they were young, ambitious, adventuresome, and willing to gamble. The new alliance journeyed into the goldfields where they found success in a unique manner. Life became good for all until the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco when a few members of the alliance became victims. Life continued while new generations appeared. With the departure of a few members, they suddenly realized that they had unintentionally created a tontine to reward the last survivor.

About the Author

Bryan Mah was managing when health forced him into retirement. With extra time on hand available, his sister suggested he research their family tree as a beneficial activity. He began researching many generations, but most of his relatives were in their senior years. They recalled many ancestors by name and title, but few details. Unable to travel, Mah researched many available documents. The process was long but during the time, a story came into his thoughts and a novel was born.