of life on the nineteenth century Silk Road continues. Facing the threat of a Russian invasion, the nomadic clans of the steppe and the people living in town are forced to set aside their differences to protect their lands. When an agreement is struck, the clans decide the best way to solidify the alliance is to bind them together by blood through marriage. But the women of the steppe will not accept just any union, invasion or no. The men must prove themselves in a high-speed horse race across the plain-against their prospective brides! Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.