In their remote mountain village, Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. For the Akha people, ensconced in ritual and routine, life goes on as it has for generations-until, one day, a stranger appears at the village gate, marking the first entrance of the modern world in their lives. Slowly, Li-yan begins to reject the customs of her people. Forging a relationship with a man her parents believe to be a poor match, she has a child out of wedlock and then gives that child up for adoption, tucking a special tea cake into her blankets. Li-yan's journey of self-discovery leads her to an education, a business, and city life, but all the while she longs for her lost daughter, who is being raised in California with her own questions about her mysterious origins. Over the course of years, each searches for meaning in the study of Pu'er, the tea that has shaped their family's destiny for centuries. A powerful story about two women separated by circumstance, culture, and distance, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is an unforgettable portrait of a little-known region and its people and a celebration of the bonds of family.