When mold creeps across the attic of childhood, only the light woven from scars can pierce the gloom.
Ten-year-old Su Qinghuan is locked in a damp attic by her stepmother, Madam Bai. Just as she nears despair, Chu Yanci, a boy bearing a phoenix-tree-shaped scar, bursts through the window and shields her from the poisonous lash of a cane. Two souls abandoned by their families bury a phoenix tree seed in a derelict garden. With their promise, "When the tree grows tall, I'll protect you for the rest of your life," they stand against the greed and schemes of the adult world. After secretly overhearing a conversation between his family and Madam Bai, Chu Yanci discovers that Su Qinghuan has become a pawn in a marriage alliance. The scar on his back and the unopened letter from his mother also conceal a feud between the Chu and Su families that has lasted for years. As schemes coil around them like vines and the sapling grows in blood and soil, can they turn their scars into blades and protect the one light they have left in the midst of family strife and the depths of human nature?
