The ultimate story of rising from nothing to hold the reins of power, Empress Orchid by Anchee Min is the first in a two-part tale of the last empress of China. Tzu Hsi begins as an ordinary country girl whose beauty gets her noticed and brought to the imperial court as a concubine. Intelligent and charming, she soon finds herself being more and more powerful in court, and when the outside world begins closing in on China, she is the one person capable of holding China together.