Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

In 1939, twelve-year-old Neela meets a young freedom fighter at her sister's wedding and soon after must rely on his help when her father fails to return home from a march in Calcutta against British occupation.

"A beautiful, powerful new novel from the bestselling, award-winning author of Sister of My Heart and The Mistress of Spies about three generations of mothers and daughters who must discover their greatest source of strength in one another--a masterful, brilliant tale of a family both united and torn apart by ambition and love. The daughter of a poor baker in rural Bengal, India, Sabitri yearns to get an education, but her family's situation means...

A magic realism tale of Tilo, a woman from India who is given immortality by the gods as long as she remains chaste. In her old age Tilo ends up in California, running a spice shop and helping immigrants. One day enters Raven, a handsome American, and Tilo transforms herself into a beautiful woman for a night of love. Now she must pay the price.

Tilo is an immigrant from India, and a shopkeeper, who is also the "Mistress of Spices." The spices which she gives to her customers help them to satisfy their needs and desires. Her life changes when she falls in love with Doug, an American man.