A powerful story of young love and idealism set in Singapore in the 1960s, a time of political uncertainties and economic insecurity.

Young, passionate and idealistic, Sister Marie rejects the conformity of her first love, a Singaporean police inspector, and embraces the liberalism of her second love, an American missionary. Fresh into university, she leads a group of students to question the values of a nation gripped by fear of the government and loss of their rice bowl. They organise a protest march against the Vietnam War, which leads to a riot, detention and deportation of the workers they try to help. In the midst of this, a student meets a tragic death, while a lecturer and a suspected Communist agent provocateur goes crazy in his attempts to radicalise the students-workers’ movement.

About the Author

Suchen Christine Lim is an award-winning author of novels, short stories, children’s stories and a non-fiction book.

In 2012 she was awarded the Southeast Asia Write Award for her body of work. Fistful of Colours, winner of the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize, is cited as a classic Singapore novel. Among other acclaimed works are A Bit of Earth and The River’s Song. Her latest work of fiction Dearest Intimate was published in October 2022.

Awarded a Fullbright grant, Suchen was a Fellow in the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and later its Writer in Residence. She was also a Fellow in Creative Writing at the Nanyang Technological University, and has held writing residences in the US, UK, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar.