John Corner left home aged 19, never to see his father, EJH Corner, again. Edred John Henry Corner was Assistant Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and was instrumental in the creation of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. During the Japanese Occupation, he safeguarded the scientific and cultural collections of Singapore but was branded as a collaborator. Post-war, he headed the UNESCO Amazon project, propounded The Durian Theory, and led key expeditions to Mt Kinabalu. After 46 years, John faces his father in a suitcase he leaves for him, resulting in an engaging biography of a scientist who put science even above his family.