This novel takes place in three time  periods. In the present, Yung Ling Teoh, a retired judge, looks back on her life during the Malayan Emergency in 1951. A former prisoner of the Japanese, she had apprenticed herself to Aritomo, once the gardener to the Emperor of Japan. She wishes to learn the art of creating a Japanese garden so she can create a memorial to her sister who had been murdered by the Japanese. The story touches on the decisions forced on decent people caught up in world-shaking events and the paths they later take to make recompense. As exquisitely written as Eng’s first novel, The Gift of Rain.

Detailed but divergent reviews can be found here and here.