‘An unusual, beautifully rendered and atmospheric novel. The suspenseful storytelling and compelling characters will keep you turning the pages.’ RACHEL HORE, Sunday Times bestseller.

Laura, a successful fashion journalist based in London, finds herself uprooted from the world she knows and loves after she moves with her husband and two small children to a dilapidated bungalow in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Behind the house is an overgrown garden inhabited by monkeys, snakes and monitor lizards. A swimming pool sits in the shade of a beautiful jacaranda tree.

Mariel, the Filipina maid Laura hires, hasn’t seen her own children for nearly ten years. She’s on a mission to escape her abusive past and finally marry the man she loves despite an ongoing battle against prejudice.

Laura’s journey is one of self-discovery, Mariel’s is a fight for a better life.

‘Through the lives of two strong but troubled women, two worlds interweave: the beauty and dangers of Malaysia and the ambitious modern west. This is a sensitive, atmospheric and absorbing novel.’ SUE GEE

‘An exquisitely painful account of cultures on a collision course. Tone perfect, this is a book to make you squirm and laugh aloud!’ DAVID ROBERTS, author of The Lord Edward Corinth mysteries