★ A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY EDITOR'S PICK ★

"A single haiku is a portal to the past. But finding enlightenment might cost him his future."

For Zen student Stephen Maine, a simple poem is not just poetry—it is a gateway. In a breath, the walls of his modern life dissolve, hurling him across the centuries into the heart of thirteenth-century China. Here, the legendary Chan masters are not myths, and the ancient koans are not riddles—they are lived reality. But Stephen is not alone in this timeline. He shares his physical form and mind with Wùkōng, a wandering Japanese monk destined to shape the history of Zen.

When both men fall for Yabaku, a beautiful and fiercely independent maker of mystical swords, the fabric of time begins to fray. Torn between his fractured present-day marriage and a growing, profound connection in the past, Stephen must navigate a maze of spiritual awakening and earthly desires. If he finds enlightenment, he may never find his way home...