A work of historical fiction, In the Realm of Yang concerns an event that occurred in Ch'ang-an, the capital of ancient China, when an emperor gave his daughter to the leader of the northern barbarians to establish peace. It is the story of a father's betrayal, the struggle of a Chinese princess against overwhelming odds, and, in contrast, a doctor's love for a graduate student at the University of California. The book is an adventure into the world of the Early Han dynasty, Chinatown, and San Francisco as portrayed against a rich background of competing philosophies and political beliefs. Its theme is timeless: love is eternal.