Malaysia 1979 - Judith Wilkes, an Australian journalist takes the opportunity to go to Malaysia--to do a story on the boat-people refugees: arriving from Vietnam in all their wretchedness, they've found only hatred and maltreatment in the coastal camps. Judith's guide is Minou Hobday, a Chinese/Vietnamese woman now married to the Australian ambassador in Kuala Lumpur. Judith finds a much-needed model of independence, in Minou's perverse, outrageous sexiness--as well as in the culture and steamy climate of Malaysia itself. But this image is short-lived. . . because it soon appears that Minou isn't really so free and commanding as she seems: her own family is to be on the next boat arriving illegally in Malaysian waters; her personal charisma and government connections probably won't help her to insure their safety.
"...d'Alpuget's first novel to appear here is vivid, taut, sex-perfumed: a distinctive performance from one of Australia's more promising newcomers." (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 1983)
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