A New York Times Bestseller -- The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the Japanese Empire?s single port and sole window onto the world, and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. Here Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk, has five years to earn a sufficient fortune to win the hand of his wealthy fiancée back in Holland. But Jacob?s intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with the daughter of a samurai doctor.
