This breathtaking, sweeping novel traverses the Caribbean, Europe, America, and China as it recounts the tale of John Moneague, a man who was born into poverty in the backstreets of Kingston, Jamaica. As a result of unforeseen and tragic circumstances, an old Hakka Chinese woman becomes John's guardian and life-long mentor. She brings joy into his life, shutting out the harshness of the rest of the world. Madam Hung Chin owns a small grocery store, and manages to make a living during and following the lean times of World War I. She secures the best education she can for John, sending him to a school intended for Chinese children. The intriguing narrative intensifies when John attracts the attention of a Jewish couple from England who are involved in, and dedicated to, a secret cause. As rumblings of political and domestic unrest spread across the European continent, the couple's political involvement turns out to have a momentous impact on John.