It is Beijing in the 1970s. Lai's grandmother is a formidable figure, while her ageing beauty of a mother snipes at her father, a sunken figure who has taken refuge in his work. As she grows up, Lai comes to discern the realities of the country she lives is: an early encounter with the police haunts her for years; her father makes her see that his quietness is a reaction to experiences he has lived through; and an old bookseller subtly introduces her to ideas and novels that open her mind to different perspectives. But she also goes through what anyone goes through when young – the ebbs and flows of friendships; troubles and rewards at home and at school; and the first steps and missteps in love. She is eventually given a scholarship to study at the prestigious Peking University, and starts to get involved in the student protests. It is the late 1980s, and change is in the air...