With over 70 million members, the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the world's largest political party. The Trials of Local Leaders follows two regional CPC officials over an extended period. One is an official in China's northeast, where economic development has stalled. The official must grapple with dismantling a bankrupt state-owned enterprise and provide help to unemployed workers. The other official works in the prosperous south. With the region's ample tax revenues, the official has introduced a type of social insurance system rare even for China. Through this sustained look at these two Party officials, the rarely seen reality facing the CPC is revealed. It shows China's approach for "reduction of disparities and the realization of a harmonious society."