Midori Saito's dream seems about to come true. Too independent for Japanese society, Midori is a young woman who has always felt like a stranger in her native land. So when she falls in love with Kevin, an American English teacher, she readily agrees to leave home and start a new life with him in San Francisco--as his fiancée. Kevin seems to be the perfect man. That is, until he dumps her for his blonde ex-fiancée, whom Midori never even knew existed. Midori is left on her own, with just a smattering of fractured English, not much cash, and a fiancée visa set to expire in sixty days. Unable to face the humiliation of telling her parents she's been jilted, and not wanting to give up on her "American Dream," Midori realizes she's in for quite a challenge. Her only hope is her new acquaintance (and potential landlord) Shinji, a successful San Francisco graphic artist and amateur moon gazer who fled Japan after a family tragedy. And eventually, Midori surprises even herself as she proves she will do almost anything to hang on to her dream of a new life.

"Aspiring Cinderella Midori Saito does not heed her mother's warning-'Running off with a foreigner will bring you nothing but trouble'-in Tokunaga's delectably frothy debut. Trouble is exactly what Midori finds after following English teacher Kevin Newbury from her native Japan to San Francisco, where Prince Charming quickly becomes Prince Alarming after a nightmarish engagement party. After Kevin dumps her to return to his ex-girlfriend, Midori doesn't want to tell her parents or return to Japan, although with little savings, no green card and only a temporary visa, she may have to. Fortunately, Kevin's old friend Shinji Nishimura, who met Midori at the ill-fated party, offers Midori refuge while she figures out her next moves-she's a talented baker-and Shinji ponders his. Tokunaga, author of the self-published No Kidding, depicts Midori's determination to create her own version of the American dream with exuberance." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Too independent for Japanese society, Midori Saito falls in love with an American English teacher and leaves home to start a new life with him in San Francisco. But after he dumps her, Midori is left on her own. Soon, Midori surprises even herself as she proves she will do almost anything to hang on to her dream of a new life.

WENDY NELSON TOKUNAGA’s short stories have appeared in The Abiko Literary Quarterly Review, The Plaza, The Timberlake Review, and Yomimono, among others. She lives in San Francisco with her Japanese-born surfer-dude husband Manabu Tokunaga.