Set in contemporary San Francisco and in the Chinese village where Peking Man is being unearthed, the Bonesetter's daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, it's deepest wounds, it's most profound hopes. The story conjures the pain of broken dreams, the power of myths, and the strength of love that enables us to recover in memory what we have lost in grief. Over the course of one fog-shrouded year, between one season of falling stars...

"In 1938, Ruby, Helen and Grace, three girls from very different backgrounds, find themselves competing at the same audition for showgirl roles at San Francisco's exclusive "Oriental" nightclub, the Forbidden City. Grace, an American-born Chinese girl has fled the Midwest and an abusive father. Helen is from a Chinese family who have deep roots in San Francisco's Chinatown. And, as both her friends know, Ruby is Japanese passing as Chinese. At times...

Explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter, who has been adopted by an American couple, tracing the very different cultural factors that compel them to consume a rare native tea that has shaped their family's destiny for generations.

"Past is present. Catherine Ling has done everything she can to escape her past and create a new life, far from her rough beginnings. But someone has followed her trail and is playing a deadly game with her, using those she cares about as pawns."--