Forbidden Fruit

Can a passionate North American woman find truth, meaning and love in post-Cultural Revolution China?


In 1980, Gail Pellett, a producer for radio and TV, moved from NYC to Beijing to work as a “foreign expert” at Radio Beijing, China’s equivalent to the Voice of America. Invited for her expertise and American-Canadian perspective, she was then treated as a Western spy. Chinese colleagues, acquaintances and, most painfully, lovers were warned away.


During a pivotal moment in post Cultural Revolution China when windows were being thrown open – and then, slammed shut – this story records Pellett’s journey from hope, naiveté and ignorance through profound disillusionment and emotional pain to enlightenment in her efforts to taste Mao’s forbidden fruit.