In 1941, a young man imagines thrilling battles and heroic acts when he lies about his age and joins the army. Assigned to the Winnipeg Grenadiers, part of the Canadian Army in Hong Kong, Freddy McKee becomes a prisoner of war six weeks after arriving in Hong Kong. Five years pass and Freddy finally returns home from the war, but three women--Joanna Keegan, her daughter Hope, and the beautiful and mysterious Su Li--feel echoes of Freddy's ordeal in each of their lives. For Freddy, the memory of war is a heavier burden than the weapon he once carried. Freddy must fight to survive in a world that has left him behind.