The work was finally completed in 1969. The novel closes in 1948, as the character Chi Kang and his wife Chen Ching flee toward Nanking.
四十五萬字的「滾滾遼河」一氣呵成，再轉由妻子及五位至友輪流斧正，而其間討論增刪的往來信件，竟超過十萬字。民國五十八年春天，全書廿五萬字定稿。