being back in his childhood home and interacting with relatives that have long since passed. The story jumps back to present-day Hong Kong where he meets and dines with a Mr. Zhou who is an admirer of his plays and who had a proposition for him to work in Australia which he declines. He finishes off his day by having an interview with a young journalist. Jumping back to time, Gao describes Mao's followers as ready to go against any persons that promoted reactionary thinking or anti-communist principles. He also talks about the interrogation sessions that are held in public to force individuals to admit to any crimes against the party. Back in present-day Hong Kong, Gao talks again with Margarethe and they discuss politics and the pain of memory. He also tells her of how when he had been married he worried that his wife would report him to the authorities. He then jumps back in time again and thinks about working with his friend Liu and then remembers all the intimate details of his affair with Lin. Lin was a respected female comrade whose family and husband were of importance to the party. Lin is described by the narrator as his first sexual encounter. He then later tries to break things off with Lin but the two cannot seem to stay away from one another. Eventually, though, they do the end the affair. The story continues to go back and forth and throughout all of these jumps the narrator describes things he learns and experiences that marked him. Margarethe, during one of their many nights and days together, tells of how she was repeatedly raped for a long period of time while modeling for an artist. They discuss how this affects her. Gao's alter ego describes all the politics and laws that develop under Mao. He describes the dedication with which Mao's orders are carried out. At one point in the novel, he has to help his father in order to ensure he is not punished for an ancient event from his past. His father purchased a gun and never registered it so Gao's character has to find if then gun even still exists and if anyone can track it down. At other points in the story, the main character continues to describe more of his sexual encounters, which include a girl he named Xiao Xiao and the