This work investigates the professional lives and subsequent political persecution of the American diplomats and experts who specialized in Chinese affairs during the mid-twentieth century. E. J. Kahn utilizes extensive interviews and historical records to document how these individuals, known as the 'China Hands,' were marginalized during the McCarthy era. The text argues that their nuanced understanding of the Chinese political landscape was systematically ignored or punished due to the shifting ideological climate of the United States government.

Historians and political analysts frequently cite this work as a definitive account of the human cost of the Red Scare within the American diplomatic corps. Readers often note the detailed, journalistic prose that effectively captures the personal and professional stakes faced by the subjects.