The author of When the Emperor Was Divine presents the stories of six Japanese mail-order brides whose new lives in early 20th century San Francisco are marked by backbreaking migrant work, cultural struggles, children who reject their heritage and the prospect of wartime internment.

"Micah Bishop is rescued in the Mohave Desert and hired to escort two dozen brides to the mining town of Calico, but he soon finds that things are not as they seem"--

"Wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship still wearing the scars of past mistakes. One of the few single women in the boomtown, she immediately has suitors, but she is determined not to find herself trapped again by a poor choice. Vying for her hand are two very different men. Lieutenant Richard Drummond is a gentleman in the Navy and is held in high esteem. Peter Kelly is the town's baker and has worked hard to build a...

"Longing to find true love, Kate Millington arrives in British Columbia on a bride ship. With countless men waiting to snag a bride, Kate has no trouble getting engaged. It's staying engaged that's the problem. After traveling to the remote mining town of Williamsville to marry her newest fiancé, she finds herself single again. As the prosperous owner of a gold mine, Zeke Hart has everything he's ever wanted except for a wife. At Kate's arrival,...

In 1862, Mercy escapes a bleak future in London and joins a bride ship. Wealthy and titled, Joseph becomes the ship's surgeon to avoid the pain of losing his family. He has no intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, they must fight against a forbidden love. 1862. After facing desperate heartache and loss in the London slums, Mercy agrees to join a bride ship, the Tynemouth. Wealthy and titled, Joseph takes to the sea as...

"Upon arriving in Kenworthy, California, mail-order bride Juniper Cohen is met by the pounding of the gold mine, an untamable landscape, and her greatest surprise of all: the kind and loving man who awaits her. But when the mine proves empty of profit, and when Juniper's husband, John, vanishes, Juniper is left to fend for herself and her young daughter in the dwindling boomtown that is now her home. Juniper pens letters to her husband but fears she...

"Identical brothers Zeb and Zeke Bontrager aren't looking for love. They have their hands full with a new horse farm, a half-finished ranch house, and a wild colt, thanks to Zeke's hasty business dealings. Now Zeb must contend with Zeke's bad decisions, hidden debts, and tendency to avoid responsibility, which threaten their good standing in the Birch Creek Amish community. When a newspaper ad prompts Darla King to travel to Birch Creek in search...

"Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but he doesn't experience big, important emotions like love and grief. Rather than believing he processes emotions differently due to being autistic, he concludes that he's defective and decides to avoid romantic relationships. So his mother, driven to desperation, takes matters into her own hands and returns to...