Daughter of Fortune is a fast and pleasant read -- it's a plot-driven novel in which all things are clearly spelled out for the reader. The two protagonists of the book are likable and well-developed. There's the young Chilean woman, Eliza, who flees her adoptive home for California to follow her first love, who has been lured there by the promises of riches in the Gold Rush. Then there's Tao Chi'en, a Chinese man who is part sailor, part doctor, and part sage. The adventures of the two up and down the California coast make for an enjoyable read, and the secondary characters give the novel some meat for its bones -- Eliza's adoptive mother Miss Rose, Joe Bonecrusher -- the cross-dressing madam of a traveling brothel, and Paulina -- the wife with business savvy who makes a fortune importing fresh produce packed on ice to California's starved population, all make for an intriguing read. Allende uses the juxtaposition of the Chinese, Chilean, and English cultures to unobtrusively remark on issues such as a woman's position in the world, and the theme of identity weighs in heavily. Fortune in this case can either be interpreted as fate or simply luck, but in either case, the characters seem to be unable to escape it for better or worse. Good summer reading -- a step up from mass market paperback fodder, but not too heavy and cumbersome.