Philip Montfort is a man of contradictions. Torn between his part-Caucasian heritage and his Indian identity, and denied a place in both England and India, he seeks instead to make life anew in the bustling British outpost of Singapore. There, he is drawn into the orbit of young, privileged intellectuals like himself. They call themselves the Asiatic Club and prepare to form a stay-behind auxiliary in the event that Singapore is occupied. When War reaches Singapore in the early forties, each member of this exclusive coterie is forced to confront their true selves as they make sacrifices and compromises of character. While fighting in the British Indian Army's III Corps, Philip is captured as a prisoner-of-war. Thereafter, he joins the Axis-collaborationist Indian National Army under its mercurial but brilliant leader, Subhas Chandra Bose.