Overview

Life is a journey of hope and despair, joy and sorrow, woven together to create an indelible legacy of love. This book begins with two paternal first cousins, Ta-Sun and Shian-Lan, who grow up together as best friends in rural Taiwan. Inevitably, their affection evolves beyond cousinhood and beyond themselves. Their haunted love endures her marriage and his subsequent departure to study abroad in America. In Chicago, Ta-Sun romances Vera, a vivacious Amerasian girl of a Japanese mother. Their two-year affair ends when she dumps him for a University of Illinois upperclassman, who entices her with a career on Wall Street through his family connection. Heartbroken, Ta-Sun travels back to Taiwan to see Shian-Lan, recently widowed and childless. They spend glorious weeks together, wanting to live for themselves this time. However, they promise to meet again only as dear cousins on his next homecoming, accepting that it is futile to fight fate and that they must live separate lives. Subsequently, Ta-Sun falls in love with Vera's gentle younger sister, Vickie, who embraces her mother's heritage with a great passion. He sees and feels the vestiges of Shian-Lan in her. He struggles to convince himself that he can love Shian-Lan in memory and Vickie in the present without being untruthful or contradictory. Ta-Sun receives word that Shian-Lan has become gravely ill. He rushes home to share her final moments. Two years later, Ta-Sun and Vickie are married in Boston. He brings her home to meet his family and to visit Shian-Lan's final resting place in the forest, where he has scattered her ashes and her namesake fragrant orchid blooms in solitude. This is a book of sad yet hopeful story of love. It describes some refreshing Oriental customs and mentalities as well as pristine landscapes in Taiwan's countryside.