After the British surrender, life has to go on for the inhabitants of Japanese-occupied Singapore. Dennis Chiang finds himself in the Kempeitai dragnet during the Sook Ching operation but is unexpectedly freed by one Captain Takeda whom he thought an innocuous barber but turns out to have been a high-ranking Japanese intelligence officer and taken under Akihikos wing as a writer for a propaganda magazine. Meanwhile, ghosts from his past reappear. Communist agitator Siew Chin seeks sanctuary with the Chairman of the Malayan Communist Party, while his previous solicitor boss, Clarence dAlmeida poses as a Malay driver and takes a job with Akihiko. Dennis finds himself teetering on the edge of a samurai sword between the devil and the deep blue sea. All while trying to find Daphne, his missing lady-love. Things come to a head when the Japanese surrender. Dennis finds himself accused of collaboration and is targeted by the Communists. Must he throw in his lot unequivocally with the Japanese to survive? Part of The Advocates Devil series, this exciting installment fills the gap between The Devil to Pay and The Devils Circle.