This is a novel, but based on documentary and historical research, so that it illuminates attributes and events in 17th century Ayutthya, the capital of Siam at the period when King Narai was opening the country to foreign diplomats, missionaries and traders. The English merchant Sydney Paston's activities meld in with the well known careers of Phaulcon, the King's Greek-born adviser and Sam White, the English merchant adventurer. Paston's enterprising involvements in local intrigues, his courtship of a marriage to a Siamese princess, the latter's later imprisonment and rescue all shed light on significant period of Thailand's history. Part 2 is a short faction autobiography of a 20th century crippled country girl from Chiang Mai who lives where "Paston's" Siamese princess died.