The schoolgirl of the Sichuan Mountains

In a village in the mountains of Sichuan in China, Erchema lives with her sister Zhuoma Lacuo in a community cut off from the world. This remote paradise is her whole life. But next fall she will turn 13 and, according to local tradition, Erchema will become a woman.

She belongs to the Na people, a matriarchal society which does not practice marriage, and where women make all the major decisions. Erchema has been designated as the next head of the family. She will have to cut short her schooling to work in the fields and help feed the family.

But on the other side of the mountains, on the shores of Lake Lugu, her elder sister Lamu has gone against tradition and the family’s wishes. She has married and has a child, whom she is raising with her husband. Lamu will go to any lengths to oppose the clan’s decision and to allow Erchema to continue her education. Will Erchema dare to defy tradition and change her future? The survival of the whole clan hangs on her decision…