Between Confidantes contains two novellas. Between Confidantesis a beautifully wrought and intriguing novel set amidst Shanghai's leafy plane trees and softly lit streets, recounting the story of a friendship torn apart by love and ambition. In Memory of the Departed, Chen Danyan takes the reader on an extraordinary journey through the complexities wrought by history on a mother, her daughter and their circle of friends in Shanghai during the tumultuous years between 1944 and 1978. The writer's depiction of the desperate search for meaning and happiness in a period of unpredictable change and conflict beyond the grasp of its victims, bring to life a devastating time in China's history as well as the difficulties and challenges of growing up and finding truth.