In the spring of 2010, Lin Qi, an entrepreneur who had founded a cultural media company, fell behind on several credit card payments after his company ran out of funds. Overnight, he went from a promising young entrepreneur to a criminal suspect accused of "maliciously exceeding his credit limit," hunted down and lured into arrest by banks and the police. Faced with the sudden prospect of prison and a cold, sometimes even heavy-handed judicial process, Lin Qi nearly broke down. Yet in the microcosm of society that was the detention center, he met all kinds of fellow inmates and witnessed even more tragedies in which people who did not understand the law silently pleaded guilty.
With the steadfast support and encouragement of his girlfriend Gao Shan, a resilient media professional, Lin Qi resolved to fight back. Drawing on his limited knowledge of the law and information from case files he gathered in custody, he began the arduous process of defending himself. From his passive explanations at his first interrogation, he gradually and carefully shifted the focus of the fight in the detention center from "Am I guilty?" to "Did the authorities follow proper procedures?" and "Is the chain of evidence complete?"
The story reaches its climax after the first-instance verdict, when Lin Qi firmly chooses to appeal. At the final hearing before the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, he seizes on a "fundamental flaw" in the bank's debt collection procedures and the authorities' erroneous determination of "intent to unlawfully possess," bringing about an astonishing reversal. In the end, he rises from a prisoner through self-rescue in adversity and unwavering faith in the rule of law. His journey conveys an uplifting message while educating readers about the boundary between civil and criminal liability for credit card debt, rights in judicial proceedings, and other aspects of the law.
