Set in Sri Lanka in the 1930s (when it was still called Ceylon), this is the story of a Sinhalese lawyer who was briefly famous for solving the murder of a British tea plantation owner. But even at the end of his life, he harbours doubt about what really happened. De Kretser, who was born in Ceylon and emigrated to Australia when she was 14, is deft with nuances of character. Through the life of Sam Obeysekere, readers also observe the tragic effects of colonialism on a country, the unravellings leading to a future civil war.
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