Last Year in Hong Kong

Recently divorced American artist Lucretia Barnes is deciding whether she can remain in Hong Kong when British rule ends in 1997. Her meeting with Dorje “Robbie” Rabnet, a civil engineer of Tibetan and English parentage, draws her away from the expatriate world of her former marriage. As Robbie shows her neighbourhoods, markets and communities she had barely known, their exploration of the city becomes a cautious love affair.

Robbie’s hidden work for the Tibetan cause and his obligations to family make the relationship increasingly dangerous. The approach of the handover gives every personal decision a political deadline, as residents confront emigration, Chinese sovereignty and uncertainty about civil freedom. The novel uses the lovers’ divided loyalties to portray Hong Kong during the final months of colonial government.