Young communist activist Zhu Qihua (1907-45) gives an extraordinary account of his experiences in the Revolutionary Army under the Republican government from the fall of 1926 to the fall of 1927. By late 1926 the CCP and the KMT have parted ways, with Chiang Kai-shek of the KMT Right Wing ensconced first in Nanchang, and then in Nanjing, making a bid for national domination.

Zhu's narrative begins as the Revolutionary Government and Revolutionary Army of the Alliance leave Canton to set up a new base in Wuhan following on the victories of the Northern Expedition. There they plan to extend their forces into east-central China in the Second Northern Expedition, hoping ultimately to reach Peking. Zhu describes his role as a political worker in the countryside mobilizing the masses to prepare for the advance of the Revolutionary Army. The KMT-CCP Alliance collapses after the success of the Second Northern Expedition, and the CCP is forced out. After the failure of the CCP-led August 1 Nanchang Uprising, the CCP's army of about 30,000 marches south hoping to set up their own base in in Canton. Zhu reports in harrowing detail the progress of the march: fighting, retreating, and disintegrating, leaving a trail of the dead and dying.

Zhu rubs shoulders with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Ko Mojo, Borodin, Li Lisan and many other well-known figures. He reveals the inner workings of the CCP, including directives from the Comintern, and recounts dramatic appearances by KMT leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei. His book is filled with vivid descriptions of local despots, devastated villages and townships, the state of education and the spread of missionary institutions, as well as the operations of grass-roots revolutionary organizations.