In the mountain fastnesses beyond the Himalayas lies the remote, exotic kingdom of Nepal. To this strange land Erika Leuhtag was summoned to give medical treatments to the royal family. Exciting as the adventure seemed to her as she crossed the mountains, she had no idea of the complicated drama in which she was to play an important part. For she found that Nepal's King was a mere figurehead, and that the real power lay in the hands of the Ranas, hereditary prime ministers of the land. She found, too, that King Tribhuvan was intelligent, sensitive, and handsome-truly a figure of romance. He lived in a fairytale palace with his two queens, surrounded by every luxury-but always in the background, controlling his every action were the Ranas. The mounting excitement of Erika's story would be rare in any novel of Oriental intrigue-yet it is all true. She won the confidence of the King and his family and put him in touch with Nehru, who helped him to overthrow the Ranas and regain his throne. Yet tragedy in the end clouded their success. The author's description of the unusual struggle in which she found herself involved has compression and color, as well as a great deal of action. Not since THE KING AND I has such a charming, moving book about a Westerner's discovery of and influence on the East been offered to the American reading public.