The Mistress of Spices the story of Tilo, a young woman born in another time in a faraway place who is trained in the ancient art of spices and ordained as a mistress charged with special powers. Once fully initiated in a rite of fire, the now immortal Tilo - in the gnarled and arthritic body of an old woman - travels through time to present-day Oakland, California, where she opens a spice shop from which she administers spices as curatives to her customers. Tilo can see into people's hearts and minds, but it is a mistress's duty to keep herself at a distance. Her inability to resist involving herself in the lives of her customers, however, brings her into conflict with the "old one," her teacher and mentor, who watches over her from afar. And her romantic pursuit of a handsome stranger - an even greater offense - threatens not only the course of true love but her very existence. Ultimately, she is forced to choose between the supernatural life of an immortal and the vicissitudes of modern life.