I have never doubted what I was told: "Heaven and earth are great, but greater still is the kindness of the Communist Part; father and mother are dear, but dearer still is Chairman Mao."

In 1966 Ji-li Jian was 12 years old. And oustanding student and a leader of her class, she had everything: brains, ability, the admiration of her peers -- and a shining future in Chairman Mao's New China. But all that changed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution, when intelligence became a crime and a wealthy family background invited persecution or worse. For the next few years Ji-li and her family were humilated and reviled by their former friends, neighbors and colleagues and lived in constant terror of arrest. At last, with the detention of her father, Ji-li was faced with the most dreadful decision of her life: denounce him, or refuse to testify and sacrifice her future in her beloved Communist Party.

Told with simplicity, innocence and grace, this unforgettable memoir gives a child's-eye view of a terrifying time in 20th-century history -- and of one family's indomitable courage under fire.