Summary

In Chapter 6, “Cecily, Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, 1935, Ten years earlier, British-occupied Malaya,” Cecily developed “an ‘instinct for the important’” in her espionage work (69). Gordon’s promotion “at the public works department” gave her access to important meetings and information (69). Meanwhile, she developed feelings for Fujiwara, which she wondered if he was using. However, she also discovered “what a woman’s idealism” could be (70).

A year into their collaboration, Fujiwara visited Cecily at home. She was nervous their association would be discovered, but Fujiwara was unconcerned. He told her about an upcoming dinner at the resident’s house and the British air force’s plans “to bring Allied planes to the port” (73). They made plans to procure information regarding the planes at the party.

At the resident’s dinner, Cecily intentionally fainted. While the guests gathered around her, Fujiwara duplicated “the maps, diagrams, notes, and...