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On the Korean island of Jeju, Mi-ja and Young-sook grow from childhood friends into women shaped by the island’s all-female diving culture. Their lives are tied to the sea, to family duty and to a history marked by Japanese colonial rule, war and changing times.

As the years pass, their closeness is tested by class, loyalty and the burdens each woman carries. The result is a sweeping novel of friendship, family secrets and a community where women do dangerous work in the water while life on land changes around them.