Inspired by the discovery of a cache of personal letters, the author has pieced together the fascinating life story of James Smart, rubber planter (1889-1970). Set against a vivid background of plantation life in colonial Malaya, increasingly troubled labour relations and the waning of the British imperial project, James Smart is brought keenly to life.

Follow him as he supervises a huge workforce in the sweaty jungle, faces muggers, strikers and looters, narrowly escapes the fall of Singapore in 1942, and makes an improbable journey to the newly independent nation of Zambia. Pay witness to the silent agony of his brother, a gay man in the merchant navy in the 1940s, and James’s complex reaction. Above all, watch his dedicated maintenance of a network of family relations over great distance and time and his careful planning for their future.