Summary

The novel begins with a brief prologue set in Beijing in 1966. A man and a woman stand in front of a display case of historical artefacts they fear are about to be destroyed by the Red Guard. One of the items is a single lotus seed, which was said to have belonged to an emperor and would grant him his greatest wish. The pair smash open the display case and take the artefacts. They hear someone entering the building and flee. Outside, the woman reveals that she has the lotus seed in her palm.

Part One is set in New York and begins in 1999. It is told from the perspective of Lily, a recent college graduate of Chinese descent working as an intern for a travel website. In Chapter 1, Lily describes a strange phenomenon she experiences where time seems to stop. She posted...