Lucy Lum was born in Singapore in 1933, into a Chinese immigrant family ruled with an iron hand by Popo, her fearsome and superstitious grandmother. By the 1940s, the former British colony is living under the specter of the invading Japanese, and fear floods the streets. Lucys father finds himself being used as a translator for the occupiers, and brings back terrifying stories of his merciless employers. Heartbreaking and ultimately triumphant, The Thorn of Lion City offers a fascinating account of wartime occupation and of the softly-spoken, redemptive love between a father and daughter.