he blind woman Chun Chi has a secret. Accompanied only by her adopted son Xiao Xing and a eunuch, she lives in a crumbling house stacked with boxes of seashells. But what does she hope to gain from them? Why does she keep going out to sea? How did she lose her sight? Seeking answers, Xiao Xing goes on a quest to uncover her past, which takes him on a journey far from home and into the jungles of Java. Set in the early fifteenth century, when Ming Emperor Yongle sent fleets of Chinese ships to explore Southeast Asia, entangling the two regions, The Promise Bird flits between the frozen north Chinese winter and the blazing heat of the tropics. An uncompromising novel about devotion that borders on obsession, and a love that tips into madness.