The last days of the Second World War. Manchuria. The Japanese invaders leave under the pressure of Chinese troops. A terrible death awaits immigrants from Japan. Sixteen-year-old Tatsuru miraculously manages to survive, but her life is bitter: human traffickers sell the girl to a childless Chinese family. Having lost even her own name, Tatsuru becomes the concubine of the head of the family and the secret mother of his children. The story of the “little crane”, unfolding during the turbulent years of the reign of Mao Zedong, is a novel about courage, love and the fact that people can remain human in the most difficult conditions.< /p>