There is no maiden in Peking as beautiful as the princess Turandot—or as coldhearted. Some even claim that the Moon Goddess put a spell on her that froze her heart. But when Turandot's father insists that she marry, she agrees to do so on one condition: that her suitor answer three riddles, and if he fails to do so, he will forfeit his life.
Many proud and reckless young men risk everything for the chance of winning the princess's hand. Then one day Calaf, a young prince, presents himself as a suitor, and Turandot asks him the riddles that have meant death for so many. Calaf answers all three correctly yet refuses to take the princess against her will. So he tells her a riddle of his own—one that she must solve to be freed from him forever.
Who is this suitor, Turandot wonders, who has won her yet would set her free? Why can't she bring herself to hate him as she does the others?
Marianna Mayer's exquisite adaptation of Puccini's famous opera is matched with Winslow Pels's vibrant, dramatic illustrations in this tale of love's boundless power.
—from the dust jacket
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