Amy Oxley Wilkinson was arguably the most widely known female Australian missionary in China and the West in the early 20th century. She was the great granddaughter of colonial chaplain Samuel Marsden and granddaughter of celebrated explorer John Oxley. After rescuing an abandoned blind boy, she founded an innovative Blind Boys School in Fuzhou which is now a major institution in Fujian Province. Her husband Dr George Wilkinson set up the city's first hospital and introduced a program to address the pervasive curse of opium addiction.
Amy's holistic and vocational approach to disability education brought her national and later international recognition. In 1920, the president of the new Chinese republic awarded her the Order of the Golden Grain, the highest honour a foreigner could receive. Two years later, Amy and the School's brass band were presented to Queen Mary in England.
Amy's story highlights the significance of Australia's contribution to the development of early modern China and is a challenge to anyone committed to making their life count for others.

Robert Banks has taught theology and history at various universities and seminaries and has written several award-winning books. Linda Banks has worked as a teacher, university chaplain, and pastor, and presently focuses on research and writing. They have visited the People's Republic of China several times, and together have written three earlier books on mission in China, View from the Faraway Pagoda (2013), Through the Valley of the Shadow (Pickwick, 2019), and They Shall See His Face (Pickwick, 2021).