Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a woman of sophistication and means, walks into a café, places a call, and then sits and waits. She remembers how her story began several years earlier, in 1938 China. She is not in fact Mrs. Mak, but shy Wong Chia Chi. With WWII underway, Wong has been left behind by her father, who has escaped to England. As a freshman at university, she meets fellow student Kuang Yu Min. Kuang has started a drama society to shore up patriotism. As the theater troupe’s new leading lady, Wong realizes that she has found her calling, able to move and inspire audiences and Kuang. He convenes a core group of students to carry out a radical and ambitious plan to assassinate a top Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee. Each student has a part to play; Wong will be Mrs. Mak, who will gain Yees’ trust by befriending his wife and then draw the man into an affair. Wong transforms herself utterly inside and out, and the scenario proceeds as scripted until an unexpectedly fatal twist spurs her to flee. Shanghai, 1941. With no end in sight for the occupation, Wong having emigrated from Hong Kong goes through the motions of her existence. Much to her surprise, Kuang re-enters her life. Now part of the organized resistance, he enlists her to again become Mrs. Mak in a revival of the plot to kill Yee, who as head of the collaborationist secret service has become even more a key part of the puppet government. As Wong reprises her earlier role, and is drawn ever closer to her dangerous prey, she finds her very identity being pushed to the limit…
参考翻译：
1942年，上海。二战期间，日本对这座中国城市的占领仍在继续。麦太太是一位老练而吝啬的女人，她走进一家咖啡馆，打了个电话，然后坐在那里等待。她还记得自己的故事是如何开始于几年前的1938年。她其实不是麦太太，而是害羞的黄嘉琪。随着第二次世界大战的进行，王被逃到英国的父亲甩在了后面。大学一年级时，她遇到了同学邝玉敏。邝玉敏创办了一个戏剧协会来支持爱国主义。作为剧团的新女主角，黄意识到她找到了自己的使命，能够感动和鼓舞观众和邝。他召集了一个核心学生小组，实施了一项激进而雄心勃勃的计划，刺杀了日本的顶级合作者易建联。每个学生都有自己的角色；黄女士将是麦女士，她将通过与妻子交朋友来获得Yees的信任，然后将该男子引入婚外情。黄彻底改变了自己的内在和外在，剧情按照脚本进行，直到一个意外的致命转折促使她逃离。1941年，上海。Wong的职业生涯没有终点，他从香港移民过来，经历了她的存在。令她大吃一惊的是，邝重新进入了她的生活。现在，作为有组织抵抗的一部分，他招募她再次成为麦夫人，以重演杀害叶的阴谋。叶作为通敌特勤局局长，已成为傀儡政府的一个关键部分。随着黄重演她之前的角色，并越来越接近她危险的猎物，她发现自己的身份被推到了极限。。。
重点词汇释义
in force在实施，生效; 大规模地;大量
and then然后
several years几年
left behind遗留; 留下; 追过; 留在后头
fellow student同学
leading lady饰主角的女演员
core group核心小组
