A fine spray of red ballooned in the air. The high-velocity projectile shattered the wrist, severing the radius and ulna bones, as blood spurted in pulsing streams. The pistol dropped. His eyeballs grew vast, staring at the hand dangling grotesquely by the fleshy remnants of his cuff. Then his screams began….

The Island of Penang

A free trade port within the Straits Settlements of British Malaya. An atoll lauded as the Pearl of the Orient.

On the lush, balmy isle, the moneyed and elite Müller family sits in crisis. How do they each define their identity – German, Briton, or Malayan? At heart, European or Asian?

The saga begins in a blissful, pre-war Penang, where an interracial romance blossoms with a beautiful Eurasian girl. Then it vaults to fascism's surge in London. One brother's soul rests with their Eastern home, and by this token, to Britain - the side their father takes. The other, their mother's favoured, lies with the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler and the Fatherland.

Their sibling feud rockets. Is it fuelled by ideology? Or by old grudges and jealousy?

World War II erupts. The Blitzkrieg in France and Dunkirk occur, followed by selfless courage in Norway. Months onwards, Japan invades Malaya, casting them into battle with the brutal Japanese, and later, the Nazi U-boat menace based in Penang. The betrayals mount.

Meanwhile, state-endorsed prejudices erode the women's faith in the regime. Will their woes lead them to the communists?

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese strategist, teaches the moral of keeping friends close and enemies closer. Given what they face, a shrewder creed would be: Hold your friends near, foes closer … and your sibling even closer.

Beyond the perils on the war's winding road, the tale is of family secrets, growth, and abiding love. Can they weather the obstacles and return to their island paradise? Whole.❣

A tale of forbidden love crushed by evil, escapism, and war, set in Penang, the untamed jungles of Malaya, and Europe. It is a love across boundaries, of culture clashes and diverse values. Of wartime struggles, a coming of age, and a journey of hope and survival. Ultimately, the survival of their hearts.

An epic and heart wrenching war-era period drama with gritty action.