Peter asks a fortune teller if his sister is still alive somewhere and how he can find her. They were separated when they were orphans, and now Peter is searching for her. The fortune teller tells him to follow the elephant and he will his sister. A magician is conjuring up a bouquet of lilies when an elephant mysteriously appears instead of the flowers. The strange appearance of the elephant sets events in motion that lead Peter to his family. 

I got bored with the slow plot. The story is very atmospheric, but there is not a lot that actually happens. 

This author has an artistic style of writing that makes her prose seem like she's trying to write poetry. It's kind of weird and half-way doesn't make sense. Most of her books have left me feeling.... hmmmm.... something strange that I can't put my finger on b/c I'm so confused by her weirdness. Her characters are kind of confusing. They don't say things that they ought to, and it leaves things terribly unclear. Yes, sort of like poetry - where things are unclear, or some line is only in there because it rhymes, and not because it provides any actual information. Despite all that, I enjoyed the book in a weird sort of way.