Her life in Changsha formed the backdrop for her second book, "By the City of the Long Sand" in 1926, while an assault on Nanking by Nationalist soldiers and her escape over the city wall to the safety of the waiting American gunboats was recounted in "Within the Walls of Nanking" in 1928. This book started as a piece in "Harper's Magazine". Her fictional account of her experiences in China, not surprisingly, focused on the role played by Western businessmen, especially those engaged in importing and selling petroleum products.