Eliza Pendleton was an American socialite who lived in Gilded Age San Francisco. In 1878, she and several of her wealthy female friends were given a tour of Chinatown by Wang Chao, and she met the Tong boss Mai Ling, whom she befriended due to her interest in her story of how she came to flee an abusive marriage in China and become a wealthy "businesswoman" in San Francisco. The two cultivated a friendship, and Mai Ling used it to meet Eliza's husband, the banker Bernard Pendleton, and discuss possible business ventures.