He is a Japanese soldier named Corporal Morimoto, and has Hana taken with him, leaving her sister behind. Hana swims toward Emi as a soldier approaches, and hides her sister as the man talks to her. The novel begins with the two sisters on the beach of Jeju Island Hana is with her mother as she dives for abalone and Emi is waiting on the sand. The dual timeline gives a perspective as events unfold through Hana's experience in the 1940s and a later perspective in 2011 from Emi's experience. The novel focuses on the experiences of comfort women and how the war impacted different hierarchies of individuals from multiple perspectives. At the age of 16 years old, Hana is taken away by a Japanese soldier to become a comfort woman. The sisters are haenyeo - free divers - and belong to a strong female community.

Taking place in Korea, White Chrysanthemum is about two sisters named Hana and Emi that are separated by World War II. The novel includes a map from 1943, further readings, and a notable dates section. One chapter of the novel is told from the perspective of YoonHui, Emi's daughter.

The novel switches between the two women's perspectives intermittently during the novel. It is written in dual timelines that are split between the two women: Hana's life during the 1940s and Emi's life in 2011. The novel has fictional names, characters, places, and incidents. The novel is based on comfort women, Korea, Japan, and history. Suspenseful, hopeful, and ultimately redemptive, White Chrysanthemum tells a story of two sisters whose love for each other is strong enough to triumph over the grim evils of war.White Chrysanthemum is a novel written by Mary Lynn Bracht. Seeing the healing of her children and her country, can Emi move beyond the legacy of war to find forgiveness? Emi has spent more than sixty years trying to forget the sacrifice her sister made, but she must confront the past to discover peace. But haenyeo are women of power and strength. There she is forced to become a 'comfort woman' in a Japanese military brothel. Until the day Hana saves her younger sister from a Japanese soldier and is herself captured and transported to Manchuria.

As a haenyeo, a female diver of the sea, she enjoys an independence that few other Koreans can still claim. Hana has lived her entire life under Japanese occupation. For fans of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko and Lilac Girls, the heartbreaking history of Korea is brought to life in this deeply moving and redemptive debut that follows two sisters separated by World War II.

White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht