It is the late 1960s and there is no peace in the village of Yellow Stone for little Da and his family, who were former landowners; they are all persecuted by the Red Guard, particularly Da's oldest sister, Sisi, who tries hard to conform to the new political realities, but who cannot overcome the frightened hostility of the other villagers--so Sisi escapes to find work in a school in another town, taking Da with her, and trying to find a compromise between safety and justice, where she can make a decent life for both of them.