A young woman hears the tale of a sacred text written in an ancient language and inscribed on silk cloth many centuries ago. Puyi the last emperor and owner of the relic allegedly tore the silk in pieces with his teeth and threw it from a plane when he was taken by the Japanese to Manchuria. A search for this lost text and its poignant devastatingly simple message begins... This is a beguiling tale of fables stories within stories a young mans desperate search for his fathers legacy and a young womans search for the man she loved. Covering almost a century of Chinas history this haunting novel combines mystery harsh reality and tenderness with astonishing insight.