An enthralling, page-turning story that follows the journeys of two brothers swept up in the tides of history.
Sixteen-year-old Adam and his older brother, Johan, were abandoned by their mother as children; then Adam watched as Johan was taken away by a wealthy couple; and now Karl, the artist who raised Adam, has been arrested by soldiers during Sukarno's drive to purge 1960s Indonesia of its colonial past. All Adam has to guide him in his quest to find Karl are some old photos and letters—one of which sends him to the colourful, dangerous capital, Jakarta, and to Margaret, an American whose own past is bound up with Karl's. Soon, both have embarked on journeys of discovery that seem destined to turn tragic.