With spirit, humor, or determination, each strong female figure in these stories seeks her own path, often against great odds.The reader is introduced to Savitri, bent on defeating Death himself; to the Romeo and Juliet story of Roopmati and Baz Bahadur; to sweet Supriya, whose compassion moved a town to generosity; to Durga, the goddess who battles the forces of evil; and many more. Their stories are culturally grounded, but have universal appeal. Many hold powerful meaning for our time.

As with her previous book, The Broken Tusk (see left), Krishnaswami provides supportive material for these, tales. An introduction gives a framework for the Western reader to understand enough about the Buddhist and Hindu faiths to make sense of the stories and their characters, while also discussing the evolving social roles of women and girls in this area of the world. Notes following each tale put it into context, and a pronunciation guide, a glossary, a list of characters, and source notes round out the book.