Although born to a musician father and an actress mother who starred in Chinese Cultural Revolution propaganda films, Zhang Zhang’s family experienced severe hardships under Mao Zedong's regime. In this family where music—her violent, despotic father's only lifeline—was paramount, Zhang was forced to practice the violin for hours daily, until she came to hate her instrument. Then came a life of exile. Forced to leave her little brother behind, the pre-teen was devastated. In an unaffected memoir that dares to expose the trauma of her past, Zhang Zhang recounts her extraordinary journey to the heights of classical music.