Shanghai Girls

By September 1941, Joy is over three years old and a popular extra in the movies where May is able to cast her. One day, Pearl visits the movie set and gets a role as an extra. She plays a Chinese peasant fleeing from the Japanese with Joy in her arms. Flashing back to her real encounter with the enemy, Pearl’s screams are so convincing that the director offers to pay her for a speaking part. Jealous, May demands the part for herself. The sisters get into a fight over their petty rivalries and jealousies, but Pearl yields and lets May play the role.

In December of that year, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and America is now at war. Sam and Vern try to enlist. Vern’s mental disabilities disqualify him, and Sam is classified as 4F because of his flat feet. During the next 15 months, the family adjusts to life during wartime, but this is nothing like the misery of Shanghai during the Japanese invasion. In the café one day, Pearl meets an old acquaintance. Mr. Howell is the father of her school friend Betsy. The family is American, and Howell works for the State Department.