Ling Tan, who loves the earth as much as Wang Lung of The Good Earth (1931), lives in a village outside of Nanking and has three sons (Lao Ta, Lao Er, and Lao San) and two daughters, one of whom is married to the merchant Wu Lien. The Japanese invasion of China is only a rumor until Wu Lien's shop is hit by a bomb and he has to seek refuge at his father-in-law's house. Lao San, the youngest son who is sexually abused by the lust-crazed Japanese soldiers, becomes a ruthless guerrilla fighter until he is tempered by meeting the bright, beautiful and well-educated Mayli, who agrees to return to the hills to await him.

Four years of atrocity and sadness pass, and the narrative resumes at the time of Ling Tan's sixtieth birthday. He has neither the inclination nor the money to hold a celebration. His youngest...