Amelie Nothomb spent her childhood and youth as the daughter of a Belgian diplomat in China and Japan. Her novel, which remained on the French bestseller lists for months, tells the story of a "world war" that raged unnoticed by the public in the Beijing diplomatic ghetto from 1972 to 1975. While the parents sought peace, it was the favorite pastime of their offspring to play war. The youngest of this child army was the seven-year-old narrator, who found a life without enemies boring – until she met the beautiful ten-year-old Italian girl Elena and fell hopelessly in love with her.