Follows the life of Pearl Buck, a missionary child who was raised in rural China and developed a deep affection for the Chinese people she lived among. She became one of the most popular American writers of the 20th century, especially for her best-selling novel, "The Good Earth." Interweaves early footage of both rural and urban China with interviews of Asian scholars and her contemporaries. She holds the distinction of being the first American woman to win the Nobel prize, and she used her celebrity to draw attention by advocating for women¹s rights, civil rights, the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, mixed race adoption, and tolerance for the mentally challenged.