Armchair travel to Istanbul through this novel about the life of a boy and his elephant finding their place in the heart of a bustling empire. The story begins in India, where Jahan helps birth and raise a small white elephant, Chota. When the elephant is promised as a gift to Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman empire, Chota sets sail for Istanbul and Jahan stows away on the ship to be with him.
In Istanbul, Jahan becomes the sultan’s elephant tamer, then is recruited as an apprentice to the Chief Royal Architect, Sinan. The characters of Sinan, the Sultans, and the Sultan’s daughter are all based on the actual people who ruled the Ottoman empire in the late 16th century.
An underlying theme of the novel is an appreciation for architecture, and how, like life itself, it can be built up and crumbled down.