The Fall of Singapore, 15 February 1942

The British Empire’s Gibraltar of the East morphs into an altered possession. An Asian one. The island, the lauded ‘impregnable fortress’ with its key naval base, is lost. Along with their prestige.

The Baron Montague Bythesea III - nobleman, thinker, recusant - is a British detective chief inspector in the Straits Settlements Police. Bred in the land of the Rising Sun, he becomes, by a cruel twirl of fate, a fresh captive of the Emperor Hirohito. A POW at Changi.

As the brutal war oppression dawns after Singapore’s surrender, they summon the shrewd sleuth to delve into the case of a Nipponese. A scion of samurai. Was the act seppuku, a ritual suicide? Or a vile murder?

Unheralded circumstances propel him into the enigma, a hunt he feels honour and duty bound to pursue. In doing so, his compatriots may judge his deeds as sedition. Will they brand him an enemy collaborator? A traitor? A sin for which he risks being shipped to the gallows by the Crown.

Over the course of his contentious inquiry, he faces the shadowy world of spies and sectarian strife from within Japan’s regime, while his past in Tokyo catches up with him. It turns deadlier and the body count rises.

All the while, guilt sweeps over Reiko, his Japanese foster daughter. Her native country’s onslaught, the ruin of her adopted home, the untold deaths and suffering, not least his forced internment, leave her sickened. Shame engulfs her.

Though free, the alluring and gifted kyūdō archer is afraid their new rulers will twist her status as a British Subject seeing it as a betrayal of Nihon. As spitting at their divine emperor. The ruthless Kempeitai excels in torture, rape and slayings. The thought she may face scrutiny rattles her.

Split in age by years, Monty and Rei’s kinship ensues not as parent-and-child. Rather, they enjoy the soulful closeness of siblings, a companionship forged by tragedy. Unawares, his feelings for her shift. Slyly at first. It flummoxes him, unsure what it means. Also, he ponders whether she stirs likewise? The isle’s subjugation upends their blissful tropical life and the trials of his quest force him to a crossroads.

His choices stand plain. Will he suppress his innermost yearn? Or threaten the essence of their affinity?

If he survives his perilous venture.

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Spies, crime, forbidden romance, and games of trust entwine in this captivating mystery drama set during the occupation of Singapore and Malaya in 1942. A World War Two historical fiction.

Gripping. Unmissable.

A story unlike any other.