Thirteen-year-old Fang Si-Chi lives with her family in an upscale apartment complex in Taiwan, a tightknit community of strict yet doting parents and privileged children raised to be ambitious, dutiful, and virtuous. She and her neighbor Liu Yi-Ting bond over their love of learning and books, devouring classic works?Proust, Gabriel Garc?a M?rquez, the very best Chinese writers. Yet, it is their lack of real-world education that makes them true kindred spirits. Si-Chi?s innocence is irresistible to Lee Guo-hua, a revered cram literature teacher and serial predator who lives in her building. When he offers to tutor the academic-minded girls for free, their parents?unaware of Lee?s true nature?happily accept. While Yi-Ting?s studies with Lee are straightforward, Si-Chi learns about things no one teaches them in school