When The Law of Love was published in 1996, Laura Esquivel was already a successful author. Her first novel, Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments, with Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies, published in 1989, became a bestseller in Mexico and the United States and has been translated into numerous languages. Her second novel, The Law of Love, however, did not receive the critical acclaim of the first. As in Like Water for Chocolate, in The Law of Love Esquivel focuses on the redemptive power of love. In this novel, which takes place in the twenty-third century and includes several "regressions" into past centuries, the main character, astroanalyst Azucena, struggles to reunite with her "twin soul" Rodrigo and, at the same time, restore peace to the universe by reinstating the Law of Love. This law states that when a person opens her heart enough to forgive all enemies, she will help perpetuate a Divine Will, a "cosmic order" that will bring peace and harmony to all. Esquivel's multimedia presentation, including color illustrations by Spanish artist Miguelano Prado and poetry and accompanied by a CD that contains arias by Puccini and Mexican danzones, results in a clever tale of love and understanding.