Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga is set on the island of Kekon, where two rival clans—the honorable No Peak and the ruthless Mountain—are locked in a generations-long feud for control of the capital city, Janloon, and its supply of magical jade. This bioenergetic mineral is found only on Kekon, and when worn by the rare individuals with the right training and genetic aptitude, grants them superhuman abilities. Jade War is the second book in the trilogy and opens in the immediate, volatile aftermath of the first novel, Jade City. In this first installation, the Kekonese people unite as the One Mountain Society to free their island from occupation by the country of Shotar. However, after that victory was achieved, One Mountain split into several factions, the most powerful of which, the Mountain clan, headed by the Ayt family, and the No Peak clan, led by the Kaul family, rose to prominence. The two clans battled for control of the island and the jade trade, with No Peak favoring an isolationist stance, keeping Kekon separate from the rest of the world, while the Mountain clan saw value in allying with outside countries to increase their power.

At the end of Jade City, the No Peak clan secured a fragile victory over the Mountain clan in a brutal street war. However, the triumph came at a devastating cost: the assassination of their Pillar (leader), Kaul Lan. His death thrusts his unprepared younger brother, the hot-headed enforcer Kaul Hilo, into the role of Pillar. Hilo must contend not only with the clan’s grief and instability but also with his own reputation as a street fighter rather than a strategist. His sister, Kaul Shae, has returned from abroad to become the clan’s Weather Man (second-in-command), bringing a modern, foreign-educated perspective that often clashes with tradition. The family is further fractured by their cousin, Anden, a jade prodigy who has refused his Green Bone destiny, creating a deep rift with Hilo. This precarious new leadership structure sets the stage for escalating international and internal conflicts in Jade War.