An Extraordinary Legacy: Born in Shanghai, China, in an era between the World Wars, Zillah Janes inherited a natural spirit of adventure. Her father, an American businessman in the Far East, met and married in Tokyo her mother, a British governess who had escaped both Poland and Russia in the wake of war and revolution. Their two daughters grew up among Shanghai's international community, where Zillah became a keen observer of local culture. Her story features remarkable events: