braham, a twenty-eight-year old widower, travels from the Venetian Ghetto to the Burmese kingdom of Pegu, to buy jewels for his uncle in the last years of the 16th century. A quiet, withdrawn man, Abraham, far from kin and community, finds the ways of the Peguans and their Buddhist beliefs strange and baffling. He must confront his own taken-for-granted world as he struggles with a series of moral choices which test his very sense of self. Taking residence in a house previously occupied by another Italian trader, he soon learns the Italian indulged in a native sexual ritual involving young brides – a duty Abraham, too, is expected to fulfill if he wants his family’s business to succeed. Abraham is repulsed and refuses, but the success of his venture forces him to reluctantly reconsider. An accidental death leaves Mya, a young bride from the village, at his doorstep. Read more