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A work of fiction inspired by the life of Yang Nai-Pieng, a chef who left China in the 1950s shortly after the People's Republic was established. As Yang traverses the high seas, the halls of an American embassy, the palace of the last Iranian Shah, and finally, an Arizona cattle ranch, his quest to reunite with his wife and children left behind demonstrates that some bonds transcend time, distance, and even death. The novel includes an unlikely cast of characters: American Ambassador to China, Everett Drumright; Ashraf Pahlavi, the Shah's twin sister; and socialite-turned-recluse, Margaret Morris, whose uncle was the infamous Harry K. Thaw. Told from the perspectives of Yang, his wife, and two of their children, the narrative weaves in and out of the lives of this family coping with both personal and political tensions, where only food, memory, and loss are constants.
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