Singapore—a trading post where different lives jostle and mix. It is 1927, and three young people are starting to question whether this in-between island can ever truly be their home. Mei Lan comes from a famous Chinese dynasty but yearns to free herself from its stifling traditions; 10-year-old Howard seethes at the indignities heaped on his fellow Eurasians by the colonial British; Raj, fresh off the boat from India, wants only to work hard and become a successful businessman. As the years pass, and World War II sweeps through the east, with the Japanese occupying Singapore, the three are thrown together in unexpected ways, and tested to breaking point. Richly evocative, this novel paints a scintillating panorama of 30 tumultuous years in Singapore's history through the passions and struggles of characters the reader will find it hard to forget.