—A girl who curses the unfairness of life…a forbidden mountain…and a blue shirt of extraordinary meaning.

The author set this engaging and imaginative work, steeped in local tales and legends, in the Hakka hamlet of Zuodui in southern Taiwan. The ten short stories within both stand on their own and play off of one another. Just beyond Zuodui Village, Linbian Stream regularly transforms into a raging river during the annual Plum Rains in May. Inside the village, residents are surrounded by the familiar comforts of everyday life as well as shared memories and heritage. Stories include that of a girl who curses the unfairness of life, a new bride who jumps from her wedding palanquin and drowns in a river, women rejected by both temple and family, a forbidden mountain, a child bride, a mud-brick house, pickled vegetables,
sweet rice cake, and a blue shirt of extraordinary meaning.