Hope Cooke, an American socialite born in San Francisco in 1940, became an iconic figure in the history of Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim. She was the Queen Consort, or "Gyalmo," to the last Chogyal (King) of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal. Her story is one of romance, cultural integration, political turbulence, and eventual separation, deeply intertwined with history of Sikkim itself.