First published 2019
Bari escapes the deadly famine gripping North Korea in the 1990s. Weak but determined, she crosses into China and eventually smuggles herself across oceans in a cargo ship's hold. She arrives in London with nothing but the healing knowledge her grandmother taught her. The city overwhelms her with its clash of cultures and languages, but Bari finds work as a masseuse. Her touch does more than ease physical pain. She reads the nightmares and trauma that haunt her clients, offering comfort to damaged souls. Cut off from everything familiar, Bari struggles against loneliness and grief. She must discover whether love and hope can survive in this alien world, or if the weight of displacement will crush her spirit. Her journey mirrors an ancient Korean tale of a cast-out princess who traveled to the world's edge seeking the elixir that brings peace to restless spirits.
Genres: historical-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, asian-american
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: China, London, North Korea
Period: 1990s
256 pages · Paperback · Scribe US
Content warnings: mental-illness