In June 1969, David enters China to commence his life's work: deliverance of the displaced souls of the Cultural Revolution. The unwelcomed advice of his mentor, Elder Tombaugh, leads David to discover what led him to the Middle Kingdom. At first, death is the outcome sought by the young man. Hun Hei, a Red Guard leader, seeks to convert David to communism or accommodate his death wish. A teenage girl, a boy and Confucius make it imperative they escape China. Life calls David back from the brink. To heed the call, he must change from the drift toward a wasteful death, to a life freed from the inaction of martyrdom.