In 1975, in Kushui Village in northern Shaanxi, Li Xiu'e, a sent-down youth from Shanghai, was nine months pregnant when she received the devastating news that her husband, Chen Tiesheng, had died in an accident at the reservoir.
Her husband's death left Li Xiu'e without her last protector. Bullied by the village tyrant, she went into premature labor and suffered severe bleeding. In an era when a person's class background mattered above all, the orphaned young mother was left with nowhere to turn.
Just when Li Xiu'e felt most desperate and helpless, Lu Huaijin, a sent-down youth from Beijing in the same village, entered her life. Born into a high-ranking cadre family, Lu Huaijin was willing to offend the brigade leader just to give her a chance to survive.
