After centuries of self-imposed isolation, the Empire of Japan has re-emerged onto the world stage.
From the poverty stricken farm in a remote village, the Sakai family sends their eldest son to the New World to begin life in the cane fields of Hawaii. There he is forced to adapt to a new climate, culture and searing racial intolerance. With his new "picture bride", the young man must flee the grueling sugar plantations for California, where their immigrant dream continues to elude them. Finally arriving on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, they will try to raise a family in a new era of hope.
Meanwhile, the son of a Japanese consular attaché, born and schooled in the USA, is whisked back to his homeland for military training in the tense months before the outbreak of WWII. His assignment to a clandestine spy operation targeting the western United States leaves him stranded with severe injuries. His recovery, his tenuous situation, and a newly kindled romance finds him questioning his true allegiance. Is Japan his homeland or is it the US where his heart calls him.
From the splendid palaces of tsars, emperors and sugar barons to the dirt floor hovels of society's most desperate, many of the larger than life figures that shaped the world since the mid-nineteenth century come to life. Experience through these characters how simple misunderstandings, poor statecraft and devastating wars whipsaw the lives of those they rule, often with tragic consequences.
Rising Son is an epic saga spanning a century in the lives of two families as their challenges, secrets, and desires intertwine. It is the story of simple people navigating a difficult world. A story of fear, of racial bigotry, of deception, honesty and love. It is at once a romantic adventure and a cautionary tale.
