The Japanese occupation of Nanjing -- with all of its horrors -- is told in a matter-of-fact, almost dry, narrative by a Chinese woman working a Jinling, the women's college there. The actions of Minnie Vautrin, an American who chose to stay at the school in hopes that as a foreigner from a country that was then neutral in the war she would be able to protect the women and children who found refuge there, are the focus of the novel. Her love for China and her loyalty to the school are remarkable, making her decline into depression, mental illness, and ultimately suicide all the more tragic.