First published 2026
Ah Xue combs the hair of wealthy women in her fishing village as Communist forces gather strength around her. Her daughter Mimosa watches their family fracture under the pressures of the Cultural Revolution. Fei Fei, raised as a boy by her activist father, struggles with her true identity in the years following Tiananmen Square. Each woman faces moments when personal survival collides with political forces beyond their control. Ah Xue must choose between safety and principle as revolution transforms her village. Mimosa navigates the dangerous currents of ideological conflict that threaten to destroy her parents and her future. Fei Fei confronts the gap between the person her father wanted her to be and who she really is. Their stories weave together across generations, showing how families endure when history tries to tear them apart. This saga reveals the quiet strength that emerges from ordinary women facing extraordinary circumstances.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, asian-american, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, generational-saga
Setting: China, Fishing Village
Period: Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen Square
400 pages · Hardcover · Viking