The dragon, raging and hungry,
The Tiger, sleek and cunning.
Man and woman, yin & yang, partners meant for Heaven.

The white man arrived before sundown, and the storm clouds thickening the sky made him appear an ugly baboon growling at the rain. But Little Pearl's missing master owed him money, and Little Pearl owed the Tans. They had saved her from abject poverty and disgrace, set her feet on the Taoist path. And so, barbarian or not, Captain Jonas Storm was welcome here. His eyes were a strange kaleidoscope of blue and green and brown, and in their alien depths, Little Pearl saw the impossible promise of paradise. Could it be true? Even with the shadows growing in the Empire, heaven was within reach--and this barbarian could take her there.