Mei-Ling Liu has come a long way from her humble beginnings in a small town on the coast of Taiwan. She is in New York City to interview for an assistant professor position at Columbia University’s business school. After completing undergraduate studies in Taipei—and following much soul-searching—she had departed for the United States to earn her PhD. Now, six years later and against long odds, she is a step away from a faculty position at the prestigious school. But she finds herself face to face with an unexpected and formidable foe—a very combative interviewer. Can she collect her wits, parry the thrusts, and win the job?