In 1854, eleven-year-old Charlie Towns helps his classmate, Mei Li, flee her sinister uncle in Shanghai. Charlie soon finds himself racing across a fantastic, war-torn China to save Mei Li's grandmother before the Autumn Moon rises. Armed with only his wits and a "magic" marble, Charlie battles gamblers, river pirates and rebels. But as they journey further up the mysterious Yangtze River they confront incredible creatures from Chinese myth. Will Charlie learn to believe in himself and embrace magic in time to save his friends?.