In this stunning novel based loosely on the life of the author's grandfather, an embroiderer in the court of the last king of Vietnam in the early 1900s, Kien Nguyen re-imagines his grandfather's amazing story to weave a tapestry of his own.
Dan Nguyen is seven years old when he marries a woman twenty years his senior. More mother than wife, Ven takes care of Dan until the day he leaves his childhood forever - when he witnesses his father's brutal beheading at the hands of the power-hungry mayor. In order to protect Dan until he is old enough to defend his father's honour, Ven hides him as a servant in the house of the enemy, where he falls in love with the one person he can never have - the mayor's beautiful granddaughter, Tai May.
Dan's journey from child to slave to embroiderer in the Royal Court, where he has the chance to win Tai May's heart, is a story of spellbinding drama, intrigue, and an unforgettable love affair.
