' Look for your sister after each dive Never forget If you see her you are safe' Hana & her little sister Emi are part of an island community of haenyeo women who make their living from diving deep into the sea off the southernmost tip of Korea One day Hana sees a Japanese soldier heading for where Emi is guarding the day's catch on the beach Her mother has told her again & again never to be caught alone with one Terrified for her sister Hana swims as hard as she can for the shore So begins the story of two sisters suddenly & violently separated by war Switch-backing between Hana in 1943 & Emi as an old woman today White Chrysanthemum takes us into a dark & devastating corner of history But pulling us back into the light are two women whose love for one another is strong enough to triumph over the evils of war A riveting immersive read in the vein of The Kite Runner & Memoirs of a Geisha