Part I

Min begins with her story of homelife in China during the Cultural Revolution. Born in 1957, she was of critical age during the Cultural Revolution. In elementary school she first encountered the Party, and became a leader of the Little Red Guards. Min lived in the city of Shanghai in a small two-story townhouse with two families. From the beginning, her mother encouraged her to conform to Communist ideals, and so began her learning of Mao's Little Red Book.

Min's first encounter with the powers of the Communist Party was when her elementary school teacher, Autumn Leaves, was accused of being a spy. Although Min greatly respected this teacher, she was practically forced by superiors (Secretary Chain) to accuse her beloved teacher of being a trader and spy. Min was forced to confess this accusation to the masses. Min knew this was wrong, but her loyalty to the Party was to come first. This incident seemed to instill a fear from the Party within Min that she would carry for many years.

From the beginning Min acknowledges the difference of being a women in China. She states, "the idea began to sink into my mind that to be born as a girl was a sad thing" (11). This is one of our first glances at the negative impact Communism (especially during the Cultural Revolution) had on women in China.

Part II

At the age of 16, in the year of 1974, Min is sent to the Red Fire Farm. This is a peasant work camp. Here she meets three women who will impact the rest of her life, Little Green, Lu, Yan.

Little Green was a bunkmate at the farm. Little Green treasured her femininity, which was unusual at the farm. "She walked gracefully, like a willow in a soft breeze. Her long braids swayed on her back. She looked down at the floor whenever she spoke" (55). Little Green enjoyed things like singing and wearing bright red underwear. She "dared to decorate her beauty" (56). It was forbidden to stand out as well as show affections with the opposite sex without the Party's consent. One night the platoon was ordered to gather at the wheat fields. There they were ordered to shoot at a couple caught secretly being promiscuous. This couple was Little Green and a man. They man was haled off and beat. Little Green was forbidden from seeing him. The motive for this was to free women from being the "victim of man's desire" (66). This permanently effected Little Green mentally, and she became deranged. Little Green had served as a symbol of what Min wanted to be, and this incident forced her to unwilling release passions she had previously repressed. It no longer was just the Party that was important to Min; she began to unleash feminine passions.

Lu, Min's platoon leader, was driven by power. She was feared by all at the farm, including her superior Yan. She was willing to do anything and hurt anyone to gain prestige within the Party. She often threatened Min and warned her, "if one did not come to her political senses, one would lose her political future" (92). Lu and Yan constantly competed for leading positions. Lu was the epitome of being submissive to the Party. This involved extremes like breaking your back carrying too many bricks and working late into the night.

Yan was the commander at the farm. "I developed a desire to conquer Yan. More truthfully, to conquer myself, because Yan symbolized my faith" (76). She was very masculine and acted as a heroine to all. Min worshiped her. Yan and Min formed a friendship, which in time led to a sexual relationship. This began with the restrictions of male and female relationships. The suppression of their femininity drove them to each other. They no longer personally hated individual passion, like Little Green's, but wanted it in their lives. The suppression of femininity was at its height during this point of Min's life. This only encouraged Min to unleash her suppressed sensualism.

Part III

Min is selected to try out for Comrade Jiang Ching's film "Red Azalea". This movie symbolized the ideal communist women, and would act as a model for all Chinese. This proves once again to be a struggle to be the ideal communist women. Min was unwilling to be submissive to the Party. Instead she began to find ways to escape the Party's restrictions.

While going through the tryout process Min meets two more people who will impact her life. The first was Soviet Wong. She provided constant problems for Min. Wong was the supervisor of the tryouts, and was willing to do anything to stop Min from succeeding. She almost succeeded, except another character stepped in to change this.

The Supervisor became a friend, and eventually a secret lover. He gave Min confidence to be honest and believe in herself separate from the Party. In the end, he helps Min to achieve the role of "Red Azalea". He teaches her to love a man, and finally forget about Yan.

The story ends with Min being dismissed from Red Azalea (because it is cancelled), and she seems to realize no one is the true perfect Communist women. Min eventually flees to the United States.