In her debut novel for adults, Kyoko Mori has drawn on ancient myths, reworked with her hallmark lyrical prose, to probe the eternal question: Given the fragility of life, is love too great a risk?

Maya Ishida is no stranger to sorrow. Torn from her artist father and native Japan as a child, raised by her cold, ambitious mother in Minneapolis, she has finally put together a life with few disruptions: a marriage to a man who never asks questions, a quiet job weaving clothes.

But when her father dies, Maya is pulled back into the memory of their parting. She must question her placid marriage, her decision not to become an artist, and even the precarious peace she made with her mother, before she can be released—to feel passion, risk change, and fall in love.