In the Year of the Monkey in the heart of the tropics on the morning of a perpetual, centuries-old summer, God thickened the river with mud to slow the advance of time. Up the slope from his labors and unnoticed even by God, a nimble girl of seven hoisted herself through the branches of the tallest tree in the yard of the Madrigal plantation...

...and so begins the story based on the life of Catherine D'Cruz, born mid-century on the Malay Peninsula. Catherine's mother, that jungle woman from an Iban tribe in Borneo whose primitive nature so offends the matriarch of the family, Sarfina Madrigal D'cruz, that she is driven from the plantation in Kuala Lumpur, leaving Catherine at the mercy of those who had none. So severly is she abused by remaining family members that her only defense is to develop alternative personalities into which she could disappear to escape their brutality. Confounded by her behavior and eager to rid herself of any reminder of the ungrateful daughter-in-law, Sarfina consigns Catherine to a Catholic orphanage, washing her hands of her, well-aware of what nuns do to children.

But, in the months prior to her abandonment, Catherine encounters Che' Wan, a high priestess of the mystical healers known as the Bida Devi, so ethereal of spirit they leave no footprint where they step. Che' Wan discovers on Catherine's palm a perfect square--the sign of a high preistess, and prohesizes that Catherine will find her way in seven years time to their temple, esconced within the palace grounds of the King of Malaysia.

But first, Catherine endures unspeakable horrors at the hands of the nuns, and when she can tolerate their cruelty no more, leads an insurrection of the orphans, is beaten, and tossed out on the street to fend for herself.

In Book Two: Defiance, after days of wandering, an unseen force guides her steps to the walled perimeter of the palace of the King of Malaysia, where she collapses, delirious with exhaustion. She feels herself lifted from the weeds and carried through the gates and into the temple of the Bida Devi where she is reunited with Che’ Wan, the prophecy fulfilled. Catherine’s apprenticeship as a courtesan of God begins as she is groomed to replace the old woman who had foretold of her coming. The nuns had taught Catherine black and white; Che’ Wan teaches her the rainbow of colors that nurture sensual desires. She is tutored in the healing arts, herbal remedies, dance, and the profound power of multiple expressions of sex.

But the palace is not without intrigues . . . and danger from most unexpected sources. Catherine's ascendency does not go unnoticed, and not without consequences.

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