Whimsy and malice—yes—also mystery, a very female sensuality, and wit. An elegant and entertaining book.

–Ursula K. Le Guin
The tales are beautifully written, elegant, passionate, funny, and moving. The entire collection is a delightful, magical bridge across cultures. I hope many readers find their way to it.

–Patricia A. McKillip

Noted short story author Foster offers a dozen enchanting and sometimes chilling tales alive with elegantly sketched characters and sensibilities drawn from Asian folklore … Readers who long for a break from European medieval fantasy will be charmed and entertained by Foster’s tales.

–Publishers Weekly

Enchantment, peril and romance pervade the shadowy Far East, from the elegant throne room of the emperor’s palace to the humble teahouse of a peasant village. In these dozen stories of adventure and magic from the Orient, a maiden encounters an oni demon in the forest, a bride discovers her mother-in-law is a fox woman, a samurai must appease his sister’s angry ghost, strange luck is found in a jade locket, and dark and light are two sides of harmony.

A striking debut collection from Eugie Foster.