Set against the background of the emergency in Malaya – ‘The Forgotten War’ – the story follows the fortunes of four teenagers: Alec and his younger sister Pat, the children of a British Army officer stationed in Malaya; and Ah Ying and her older brother Chau Kum, who live with their grandfather in one of the Resettlement or New Villages. Alec and Pat, caught in a terrorist ambush while returning from Singapore, find themselves lost and alone in the unforgiving jungle. Meanwhile, Ah Ying and Chau Kum have opposing views about the struggle unfolding around them: Chau Kum is intelligent and earnest, believing in a policy of racial integration, while his sister Ah Ying is restless and headstrong. Her personal quest is to have a tragic conclusion.
