1941. The Imperial Japanese Army invades Hong Kong. All Europeans are rounded up and imprisoned. But one boy slips the net . . .

Nicholas Holford is smuggled to the mainland of China, disguised as a Chinese. Not knowing whether his parents are alive or dead, Nicholas spends the rest of the war in a remote peasant village. Discovery means death, not just for Nicholas but also for his Chinese friends.

As the war progresses he becomes involved with Communist Chinese guerrillas. Their war is fought not only with weapons but with words. They smuggle information and news to British troops in prisoner-of-war camps. It's called 'playing music on the bamboo radio' and there's only one penalty for getting caught . . .

A nail-biting thriller with a pace that never lets up.

"A thrilling reconstruction of what happened after the British crown colony of Hong Kong surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army on Christmas Day 1941... one of the charms of this impressively readable book is the way it unfolds like a short but vivid film." The Times