Relocated from 1866 New York to Japan by an abusive missionary guardian, young Aurelia Bernard befriends the daughter of Kyoto's most influential tea master, who instructs her about the fading tradition of the tea ceremony.

Grieving over the death of his mother, a jaded professor heads for the nation's capital to recuperate and finds in his lonely landlord and the journals of Mary Todd Lincoln insights into the feelings of loneliness, yearning, and mourning.

Originally published: London ; New York : Pandora Press, 1985.

Follows the challenging life journey of 1970s small-town youth Linda, whose synesthesia causes her to "taste" words and compels her to pursue a sense of belonging as she enters adulthood.