Introduction. The questions -- chapter 1. What did they say happened to Iris? -- chapter 2. What did she symbolize? -- chapter 3. Were there early signs? -- chapter 4. Why in the world did she run for homecoming court? -- chapter 5. Who inspired her? -- chapter 6. What did she tell me, as a primary source? -- chapter 7. What did her friends observe in those last years? -- chapter 8. What happened in California? -- chapter 9. What were her demons? -- chapter 10. Just because you're paranoid, does that mean they still aren't out to get you? -- Afterword. Who were the villains? -- Acknowledgments.

A biography of Iris Chang (1968-2004) by a long-time friend and confidante examines the life of the controversial author of "The Rape of Nanking" (first published in 1997), her decline into mental illness and paranoia, and her mysterious suicide at the age of thirty-six.