Bay Ly was introduced to the vicious world of war as a young child. Living the village of Ky La in Vietnam, she and her family never had a chance to live in peace. The war, mainly between the Republicans and the Viet Cong, disrupted the peaceful village and turned it into a war-zone. In the government-funded schools, children were taught to worship the Republicans and fear the Viet Cong. Out of school, children were starting to associate with the Viet Cong, and secretly despised the Republicans. Americans gradually filled the village, and the lives of the village-people were forever changed.
Bay Ly was caught in the middle of the war. She tried to please both the Viet Cong and the Saigon government's soldiers, because each side punished people who helped the "other side." Bay Ly was arrested on several different occasions growing up, basically because she was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Each time she was given a severe beating, and though lucky to still be alive, sent home in a state of near-death. She and her family grew up starving and in constant fear. The fights between the Viet Cong and Republicans were getting worse and the punishment for supporting the �wrong side� was severe. Things were finally too much to handle when Bay Ly was accused of being a traitor and spy, and they were socially rejected by everyone around them. Bay Ly and her mother went to live with family in Saigon.
Bay Ly and her mother lived with the family of Anh, a rich Vietnamese man. By then Bay Ly was about 16 years old. Life couldn�t get much better when Bay Ly realizes that she is attracted to the wealthy man, Anh. Bay Ly and Anh have an affair and Bay Ly soon discovers that she is pregnant. Anh�s wife, and everyone else, soon find out and Bay Ly and her mother are more or less kicked out. They then go to find a place to stay in Danang, where Bay Ly goes to live with her sister Lan and her mother goes to live with her employer. Danang was the second largest city in South Vietnam and the home of an enormous American military base Lan has several different American men over and takes Bay Ly for granted. At one point, Lan kicks the pregnant sister out onto the street for scaring an American away, but just as soon invites her back because of her father�s threats. Bay Ly, herself, starts to work at a bar and soon makes enough money to rent an apartment for her mother and her.
Le Ly made some money by selling different types of goods on the black market. She persuaded �friendly American soldiers� to buy her products at the local military exchange stores. It was largely through her black market business that she was eventually able to save enough money to pay the bribes necessary to leave Vietnam for the United States. Along the way, Bay Ly meets a few different American boyfriends. She finally meets the right one (besides his age of 60) and, after a long struggle to get all the right papers to legally leave Vietnam, moves to America.
home