An autobiographical account of the author's 78 day run along 2470km of the Great Wall of China, from the deserts of Gansu to the Yellow Sea coast north of Beijing, pausing only to fall in love with a Chinese girl whom he has since married. As only about 200 miles of the wall is open territory, William had to rely on his wits to keep one step ahead of the police. He stayed in small inns or with remote farmers and arranged that people he met wrote messages in his diary. He survived various brushes with the authorities and learnt a great deal about daily life in parts of China that the tourist trade never touches. He finished the run in December 1987 and returned to marry Wu Qi in April 1988.