The tallest mountains -- Red on the white grains -- The fortune teller -- Getting up and falling down again -- The great hunger -- My father's gift -- The land reform -- The journey south -- The walk -- My mother's secret -- Destination -- The country bumpkin boy -- The way to happiness -- My Uncle Minh -- Facing the enemy -- My grandmother's songs

"The multigenerational tale of the Tran family, set against the backdrop of the Viet Nam War. Tran Dieu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Ha Noi, her young granddaughter, Huong, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that will tear not just her beloved country but her family apart"--