With his friend Charlotte, twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese-American boy, escapes from a Seattle orphanage determined to find his mother Willow and discover his connection to the exotic film star.
Set in the ethnic neighborhoods of Seattle during World War II and Japanese American internment camps of the era, this debut novel tells the heartwarming story of widower Henry Lee, his father, and his first love Keiko Okabe.
When artifacts from Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II are uncovered during renovations at a Seattle hotel, a man embarks on a quest that leads to memories of growing up Chinese in a city rife with anti-Japanese sentiment.
