Summary

The first chapter is titled “Tilo.” The narrator, later identified as a woman named Tilo, introduces herself as a mistress of spices who can also work with minerals, metals, gems, and other elements. Her main focus is spice. She knows all about all the spices, “From amchur to zafran.” She uses her voice to find their hidden powers as well. She addresses the reader directly, noting that even the spices used in American cooking have magic. She begins listing some of those powers, such as pepper shaped into a crescent to halt nightmares. Tilo has a store called the Spice Bazaar in Oakland, California, that has every Indian spice ever known. The store has been here for only a year. However, the store and Tilo look as if they have always been here. Tilo describes the neighborhood. People see her as a...