A celebrated actress who has died in mysterious and shocking circumstances leaves behind an unconventional extended family that includes an older sister, a woman in her 20s through whose eyes the story unfolds; a young brother who possesses mystical powers; and a fiance who is writing a novel with uncanny parallels to his own story.

Together they embark on a journey that takes them through grief and suffering, memories lost and regained, forbidden romance, redemption and recovery, including a confrontation with the spirits of the dead on a remote island in the Pacific, once the site of a fatal clash between Japanese and American forces.

In a few short years Banana Yoshimoto has established herself as one of the best and most influential writers in modern Japanese fiction. Amrita is her most richly hued and sophisticated work yet.