<DIV><DIV><P></P><DIV>The first in an epic trilogy, <I>Sea of Poppies</I> is "a remarkably rich saga . . . which has plenty of action and adventure à la Dumas, but moments also of Tolstoyan penetration--and a drop or two of Dickensian sentiment" (<I>The Observer </I>[London]).<BR><BR><BR><DIV>At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the <I>Ibis</I>. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as <I>jahaj-bhais</I>, or ship-brothers. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of Canton. With a panorama of characters whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, <I>Sea</I><I> of Poppies</I><I> </I>is "a storm-tossed adventure worthy of Sir Walter Scott" (<I>Vogue</I><I>). </I></DIV></DIV><BR><BR><BR><DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV>