Beloved bestselling author Gail Tsukiyama returns with a rich historical novel based on the life of the luminous, groundbreaking actress Anna May Wong—the first and only Asian American woman to gain movie stardom in the early days of Hollywood.“A writer of astonishing grace, delicacy, and feeling.”—Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay“A beautiful, haunting book.”—Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Booth and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

At the dawn of a new century, America is falling in love with silent movies, including young Wong Liu Tsong. The daughter of poor Chinese immigrants, Wong Liu goes to the local nickelodeons to escape the schoolmates her bully her for her Chinese heritage. By sixteen, Wong Liu has already chosen a stage name, Anna May, and leaves high school to pursue her Hollywood dreams, defying her disapproving father and her traditional Chinese upbringing—a choice that will hold emotional and physical consequences.Anna May gets her big break—and her first taste of Hollywood fame—starring opposite Douglas Fairbanks in The Thief of Bagdad. Yet her beauty and talent aren’t enough to overcome the racism that relegates her to supporting roles as a helpless, exotic butterfly or a vicious, murderous dragon lady, while Caucasian actresses in “yellowface” are given starring roles portraying Asian women. Though she suffers professionally and personally, Anna May fights to become a star, financially support her family, and keep her illicit love affairs hidden—even as she finds freedom and glittering success abroad, and receives glowing reviews across the globe.