Xue'er has no place in the kingdom of Qi or any of the Six Realms. Her name means "Solitary Snow" and it surely fits a girl doomed to life as an "undesirable." Orphaned when she was young, all Xue has ever wanted is to stay with her beloved uncle, the poet Gao, who has cared for her ever since. But when she is twelve years old, Gao brings her to the House of Flowing Water and leaves her to be apprenticed as a qin player. She has a rare talent for the beautiful stringed instrument that earns her a contract with the prestigious entertainment house. Eventually her contract is purchased by the mysterious scholar Duke Meng and she leaves all that is familiar for the strange Manor of Tranquil Dreams. Every day seems to bring a new mystery. Why does her music seem to resonate here in a way it never has before? Why should a place that seems so otherworldly feel so much like home and a man who ...