"At the turn of the twentieth century, Yun Hong is born into a loving family in the southern China countryside, but as Communism consumes her older brothers, it threatens her stability--and her love affair with the son of a wealthy landlord. The line of women who later descend from Yun Hong share the burden of a family birthmark and are also each forced to reckon with both dramatic political change and the ghosts of the past."-- Provided by publisher.