Along the highest mountain passes of the Himalaya, the intrepid Jalan and his gang of outcasts make their living by robbing unsuspecting travellers. Abiding by their own unique codes of honour and dividing the spoils equally, all is routine until the arrival of the mystifying, beautiful Ushna. Appearing mysteriously after the raid of a pilgrim caravan, Ushna adheres to Jalan, claiming to have seen him in her dreams, and refusing to leave his side. Sensing the unease of the rest of the men, Ushna offers to help them in their endeavours, on condition that they do not ask why or how she is able to guide them to success.
In the time that follows, Ushna leads the gang to tremendous exploits, gaining the respect of the men, and the admiration of Jalan, who begins to fall passionately in love with this mysterious woman. As their success increases, seemingly unstoppable, so the love between Jalan and Ushna mounts in intensity, until they seem to have entered a world of their own. No longer heeding of the world around them, Jalan and Ushna venture too far in their exploits, progressing from the theft of material objects to tampering with the elements of nature – stealing energy, fortune and even the powers of levitation – the two cross over into the bounds of the supernatural.
Word of the duo and their strange exploits reaches the shrewd Yeti, who goes after them with his three bounty hunters. In the confusion of pursuit, Jalan and Ushna face a temporary separation, the shock of which drives each to desperation. Having lost luck, wealth and friends, the fated two are nevertheless fortuitously reunited. Their passion running higher than ever, they vow never to be separated again, even if this entails deceiving fate and cheating mortality. But life always reserves surprises, and karma will eventually restore the balance and their destinies, but in the most unexpected ways.
The story, Valley of Flowers, is inspired by an incident mentioned in Alexandra David-Néel's Magie d'Amour et Magie Noire where she narrates her meeting with an Indo-Tibetan highwayman. This bandit-chief in his youth had a passionate love affair with a beautiful young woman whom he believed to be an incarnate demon. Their adventure took them right across Tibet through the wildest and most inaccessible Himalayan regions and brought them into contact with some fascinating and mysterious people. Their extraordinary journey as Alexandra explains in her book is "a true story which has been lived".
A magical Himalayan tale of love and longing, karma and reincarnation, death and immortality, spanning two centuries, from the Silk Route of the early 19th century to the bustling metropolis of modern-day Tokyo.
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