'Look for your sister after each dive. Never forget. If you see her, you are safe.' This is the story of Hana and her little sister Emi, who are part of an island community of haenyo, women who make their living from free diving 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. Saving her sister, Hana herself is captured and forced to become a "comfort woman" in a Japanese military brothel. Moving between Hana in 1943 and Emi as an elderly woman today, White Chrysanthemum sheds light on a devastating history - and how the bond of sisterhood is strong enough to endure the evils of war. Meet ten of literature's most iconic heroines, jacketed in bold portraits by female photographers from around the world.

Winner of the Writers' Guild Award for Best Debut Novel Longlisted for the Authors' Club First Novel Award 'Look for your sister after each dive. Never forget. If you see her, you are safe.' Hana and her little sister Emi are part of an island community of haenyo, 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 and 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 and violently separated by war. Moving between Hana in 1943 and Emi as an old woman today, White Chrysanthemum takes us into a dark and devastating corner of history - and two women whose love for one another is strong enough to triumph over the evils of war.