Set against the backdrop of political change and dictatorial oppression in 1990s Cambodia, this poignant and moving tale navigates the vicissitudes of human relationships as Khiev, Chau Chi, and Captain Holdt struggle to reclaim the fragments of their former selves and exorcise the ghosts of their turbulent pasts.

Narrated from the perspective of Khiev, a sensitive 10-year-old child, the novel is a heartfelt exploration of innocence, sorrow, trauma, attachment, love—and, above all, what it means to be human in an often cruel and unfeeling world.

What secret is Captain Holdt hiding? Will Chau Chi manage to outrun the ghosts of her past? And what kind of world will Khiev inherit when she grows up?