In war, you can pretend to be someone you're not. Yet, in war, people find out who you really are.

Hong Kong, 1941. Anglo-Australian civil servant Dominic Sotherly's colonial sojourn in Hong Kong becomes complicated by his double life in both war and love. Enigmatic Englishwoman Gwen Harmison possesses secrets of her own – plus an unrelenting desire for liberty.

From gaiety at the Peninsula Hotel to persecution both inside and outside of internment, the story journeys from war-ravaged Hong Kong to war-weary China.

From real history, meet the Chinese admiral who led Hong Kong's daring ‘Great Escape' and the Japanese Christian soldier who risked his life for the enemy. And, uniquely during the occupation of Hong Kong, discover how one Englishwoman made history in her defiance of Imperial Japan.