The Shrimp People

The novel tells the story of Bertha Rodrigues, the youngest child of police inspector James Rodrigues and Mary Gomez, a housewife. Their family is Eurasian, descended from the Portuguese. Bertha is a gifted hockey player who becomes embroiled in the espionage activities of Indonesia: the Indonesians are determined to upset the political unity of Singapore and Malaya after the 1962 Singaporean national referendum. The book then moves to a surprising conclusion.