In 1928, under Japan’s rule of Korea, eleven-year-old Miyoung dreams of a life beyond her small village near Pyongyang. She longs to be a teacher, to escape an arranged marriage, and to carve her own path. When an opportunity arises to study in Japan with her sister, she embraces it, despite leaving behind her ailing mother—and even her own name.
In Kyoto, Miyoung adopts the name Miyoko and hides her Korean identity as anti-Korean sentiment intensifies. As a nurse, she finds purpose, but her true self feels increasingly distant. A secret romance with a Korean activist rekindles her identity and brings her a beloved son, even as the shadow of war grows.
When her dual lives collide, Miyoung must make a decision that will alter her family’s fate forever.
