In the small southern town of Chin-kiang, two young girls from verydifferent worlds collide and become inseparable companions. Willow ishardened by poverty and fearful for her future; Pearl is the daughter ofa Christian missionary who desperately wishes she was Chinese too.Neither could have foreseen the transformation of the little Americangirl embarrassed by her blonde hair into the Nobel Prize-winning writerand one of China's modern heroines, Pearl S. Buck.When thecountry erupts in civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists,Pearl and Willow are brutally reminded of their differences. Pearl'sfamily is forced to flee the country and Willow is punished for herloyalty to her 'cultural imperialist' friend. And yet, in the face ofeverything that threatens to tear them apart, the paths of these twowomen remain intimately entwined.