Li-Xia, the daughter of a young concubine to an old silk farmer in rural China, escapes her destiny of becoming a concubine by outwitting her father's orders to bind her feet and running away with an English sea captain, and takes her first steps towards fulfilling her mother's dream of becoming a scholar.

Includes "Reading Group Gold" section (p. [2-13], and reading group guide (p. [12-13]).