Simply May

Mei-Shai is a teenager living in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao's China has the Chinese people scared & all of the young people have become his foot-soldiers except the group of subversives. Unsatisfied with life she is now forced to lead, she decides to act for the first time in her life because she is sure there is a better life out there for her. America is nothing like what they know & Mei-Shai takes to it much better than her weaker friend. The two encounter the hippie movement first hand when they are taken into a commune, accepting the kindness of strangers as they struggle to learn about themselves & their new surroundings. The social issues of the time become a stumbling block for May to learn on, but she knows perseverance is the only way to succeed.