This book is about the year the author spent living and working in a remote village called Tsengel, which lies in the extreme west of Mongolia The author describes how she slowly learns to fend for herself in a world where life is dominated by the seasons From the long hard winter, through a drought-stricken spring, into a lush summer spent in the mountains beyond Tsengel with a family of nomads, and the return to the village for the 'short golden season', Mongolia's autumn