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withdrawn man, Abraham, far from kin and community, finds the ways of the Peguans and their Buddhist beliefs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. An act of generosity leads to a love, and both are reborn through their love
as the empire crumbles around them. Surrounded by danger, torn between the demands of his God and the yearnings
of his heart, he must make a fateful choice that will change his life forever and affect all he holds dear.
