California in the 1960s and 70s forms the background to a saga of one
family's passions, past and present, played out against the explosive
era of the Vietnam War. It follows the young part-Chinese heiress, May
Reade, as she searches through her illustrious heritage for the roots of
her own identity and her struggle to reconcile her Asian self with the
American. Her journey of self-discovery takes her from the anti-war
barricades of Berkeley to a remote village in China where she at last
meets the mother who had deserted her at birth. There, in the country of
her ancestors, she will not only begin to understand her confusion, but
will find her future happiness and, in the final, savage climax of the
fall of Saigon, decide her own destiny.
Gift of the Golden Mountain continues the story of the pioneering
Reade family, first encountered in the author's earlier novel Hers the
Kingdom. Seen through the eyes of faith, lifelong family friends and
archivist, it describes with telling effect the pain one generation
inflicts on the next, and the healing power of love and compassion,
forgiveness and commitment.