'Some folks in this town still think I know what really happened to Sophie - leastwise those folks old enough to remember Pearl Harbour and the terrible days that followed. . . But I can't tell them. Because I was never sure. And I guess the reason they ask in the first place is that most of us still care about Sophie and want to know that she's all right.'

In the spring of 1939 a quiet, unassuming man arrives in a sleepy Georgia town. Known by most of the inhabitants as 'the Chinee', Mr Oto is taken in as a gardener by Miss Anne, one of the few people who can see past the prejudices of colour, class and creed. Another of these is Sophie, who lost her love during World War 1 and has resigned herself to a passionless existence. The fleeting glimpses Mr Oto has of Sophie fill his heart and soon a delicate friendship turns to love. Then the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour. Mr Oto's face is now his enemy and Sophie must decide how much she is willing to risk for this man who has come to mean everything to her.