Nicole is half French and half Vietnamese, the daughter of a silk merchant living in Hanoi on the eve of the collapse of French rule in Indochina. Her father hands the family business over to his older daughter, Sylvia, while the younger one—an impetuous, frivolous creature, in the family’s view—upon reaching adulthood will inherit only an old shop. From childhood, Nicole is convinced that her sister despises her because of her Asian facial features; in the city, people like her—mixed-bloods—are showered with mockery and insults. When Nicole believes she has found her love, her older sister suddenly gets in her way… Nicole learns the truth about who her chosen one really is and understands that from now on her life has been split into two. Feeling rejected and cast aside, she runs north to join the Resistance…