At the height of China's cultural revolution, boys and girls who had graduated from high school were sent to the countryside to be re-educated, Mao Zhedong’s idea, a reflection of his hatred of the intellectuals. Also, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry were scrapped from the curriculum. Normally, re-education lasted for three months, but may take years for the sons and daughters of the enemies of the people: the intellectuals. At this time, 1971, Luo,18 years old, and his bestfriend, the unnamed narrator, 17, were banished to be re-educated in a mountain village called Phoenix of the Sky, where the nearest neighboring village was 100 kilometers away. This is the story of their survival, made possible by friendship, books, and love, in one of the darkest periods of Chinese history.