Phoenix Crown

Set in San Francisco in 1906, a city crowded with fresh fortunes and ambitious climbers, this novel follows two women whose lives become tangled together. Gemma is a soprano with golden hair and a clear, silvery voice, but her singing career has lost its momentum. Suling is a small, unyielding embroiderer from Chinatown who will do whatever it takes to avoid a marriage that was arranged for her.

Both are drawn into the circle of Henry Thornton, a railroad tycoon with a striking collection of Chinese antiques. The jewel of that collection is the Phoenix Crown, a storied relic from the Summer Palace in Beijing, a site that has long since lost its imperial splendor. Thornton's support seems to offer each woman a rare chance at a better life. Then the earthquake that tears San Francisco apart, followed by Thornton's disappearance, opens a mystery far larger than anyone could have guessed.

Five years later, the Phoenix Crown turns up again at a lavish costume ball in Paris. The story moves from the ruins of San Francisco to the palaces of Versailles, and brings Gemma and Suling back together for one final push to see justice done. The novel is written by the bestselling authors Janie Chang and Kate Quinn.