The Seed from the Tree

Winner of the Singapore Literature Prize in 1998 under the original title of Soul Search: "I am the master of my fate:/I am the captain of my soul" from "Invictus" by William Henley.
Short stories that the take the reader from Australia to Singapore to Malaysia and to Northern Ireland. The author has lived in all four countries and uses her real-life experiences blended with dreams and imagination to bring to life characters on the threshold of decisions that will change their lives. A boy must decide on a practical course or one that will fulfill his dreams. A gangster's bodyguard and a gangster's moll fight their way from Brisbane to Sydney, but will they ever be safe? Could a community's sectarian conflict really be the result of an old forgotten god? A wealthy man, would-be lover finds out that money isn't everything. An old man reflects beside a river on the violence inflicted on him during the Japanese Occupation. An old woman is dying and a young bride is tasked with listening to her final words.