Lily is the daughter of a humble farmer‎,‎ and to her family she is just another expensive mouth to feed‎.‎ Then the local matchmaker delivers startling news‎:‎ if Lily‎'‎s feet are bound properly‎,‎ they will be flawless‎.‎ In nineteenth‎-century China‎,‎ where a woman‎'‎s eligibility is judged by the shape and size of her feet‎,‎ this is extraordinary good luck‎.‎ Lily now has the power to make a good marriage and change the fortunes of her family‎.‎ To prepare for her new life‎,‎ she must undergo the agonies of footbinding‎,‎ learn nu shu‎,‎ the famed secret women‎'‎s writing‎,‎ and make a very special friend‎,‎ Snow Flower‎.‎ But a bitter reversal of fortune is about to change everything‎.‎