The Promise

In this evocative, dual-timeline novel set against the backdrop of Taiwan's history, two women separated by continents, decades, and tragic events embark on interconnected quests to decrypt their shared family history.

2014 Seattle. American grad student Jenny Chang discovers a faded photo of a young girl bearing her late father's scrawl suggesting she is his lost sister-a sister he had been searching for right up until the day of his death. Armed with his sparse notes, Jenny leaves for Taiwan in the hope she can fulfill his wish to be reunited.

1947 Taipei. Six-year-old Tsai Meiling is orphaned during the Chinese Nationalists' bloody February 28 crackdown on protesting citizens. Though she escapes the chaos, she loses the younger brother she promised to protect. As she grows older, Meiling resolves to find him, but her few clues go cold as she struggles to build a life protecting Taiwan's environment while navigating its murky political climate.

As both women face setbacks and impossible choices, Jenny and Meiling must conquer the ghosts from their past to forge a new future together.