It is 1948 and the British in Malaya are struggling to put down a Communist uprising and deal with rising nationalism in the colony. Chinese girl Suyin falls in love with a British police officer and is able to see both sides of the war but she sympathizes more with the Communist guerrillas and is critical of the British colonials. A much-loved classic and an important work in the canon of Singapore literature.

Han Suyin is the author of over twenty books, including "A Many-Splendoured Thing", which was made into a Hollywood film (winning six Academy Awards) and which inspired a popular song and a TV soap opera.. Han Suyin was chosen by "TIME" magazine as one of the twelve most influential "artists and thinkers" in Asia in the twentieth century.