Mary Austin was a mayor’s daughter who expected to live an uneventful life in Canada. But when she said I do to Jim Endicott she found that she had married China. Thrust into extraordinary circumstances, but undeterred by the political turmoil around her in China, Mary Austin Endicott determined she would achieve the goals she set for herself. She bore and raised four children, ran a one-room school, and became the foster mother to three Chinese boys, despite the raised eyebrows of many of her fellow missionaries. Shirley Jane Endicott has presented us with a fascinating account of her mother’s life, based on Mary Austin Endicott’s private writings and flavoured with Shirley’s memories. She brings to life the story of an exceptional woman whose life was shaped by profound political and historical circumstances.