Thirteen-year-old Aya Shimamura is released from a Canadian internment camp in 1946 and repatriated to Japan with her embittered father. Aya's English-language abilities are prized as her school seatmate, Fumi Tanaka, decides that Aya might be able to help her find her missing older sister. Fumi has heard that General MacArthur sometimes assists Japanese citizens in need, and she enlists Aya to compose a letter in English asking him for help. Told through rich, interlocking storylines, this novel mines a turbulent period to show how war irrevocably shapes the lives of both the occupied and the occupiers, and how the poignant spark of resilience, friendship and love transcends cultures and borders to stunning effect.