Banyan Moon

Ann Tran's life is already at a crossroads when she receives the phone informing her that her grandmother, Minh, who was dearly adored, has gone away. Ann has constructed what seems to be the ideal life in the years since she last saw Minh: a beautiful lake property, a lovely professor lover, invitations to sophisticated gatherings that overflow with champagne and fine taste—but it all comes crashing down with one positive pregnancy test. Ann, having put her carefully planned future and love in jeopardy, goes back to Florida to confront her estranged mother, Huơng.

Huơng is back in Florida, grieving over her mother but also feeling resentment against her for having a connection with Ann that she never had. Then Ann and Huơng find out that Minh has bequeathed to them both the weird, Gothic-style Banyan House, the dilapidated ancient mansion that served as Ann's childhood home. For the first time in years, mother and daughter are living under one roof and must confront the unanswered questions about their past and uncertain futures while attempting to mend their relationship without the one person who has always kept it together.

Parallel to this is the narrative of Minh, who transforms from a young, infatuated woman living under the shadow of the Vietnam War to a resolute young mother coming to the United States to provide a better life for her kids. Meanwhile, long-kept truths are revealed as it becomes evident how mistakes Minh made as a young person impacted her whole life—and beyond—after Ann discovers a startling truth in the attic of the Banyan House.

Banyan Moon is a striking and profoundly poignant narrative about mothers and daughters, the things we inherit, and the lives we choose to build out of that legacy. It takes place across decades and countries, from the vast swamplands of the Florida coast to Vietnam in the 1960s.