The year is 1799, the place Dejima, the Japanese Empire's single port and sole window to the world. It is also the farthest-flung outpost of the powerful Dutch East Indies Company. To this place comes Jacob de Zoet. The young clerk must spend five years in the East to earn enough money to deserve the hand of his wealthy fiancée. But Jacob's intentions are shifted when he meets Orito Aibagawa, the beautiful and scarred daughter of a Samurai, midwife to the island's powerful magistrate. Magnificently written, THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET is a big and unforgettable book.