Dennis Chiang is a stranger in his homeland. Just returned to the Straits Settlements after spending half of his life in England, the young lawyer is thrown into the swirling brew that is colonial society in 1930s Singapore. It is a society of tuans and towkays, of Babas and babus, where race is everything and even love cannot be wholly colour-blind. As he juggles his career and personal responsibilities, Chiang encounters a life full of courtroom dramas, cultural prejudices and even communist intrigue. And never far away is his mentor, the unflappable d’Almeida. In public d’Almeida is a calm, efficient lawyer, but he possesses a shrewd investigative streak and uses unorthodox methods that result in his young protege being caught up in a succession of captivating adventures.