Longlisted for the 2021 Epigram Books Fiction Prize “Nonya Charlie aka Charlene Neo is a charmingly contradictory heroine in the true Peranakan and adventure tradition…with a touch of romance thrown in.” –Ovidia Yu, author of The Cannonball Tree Mystery Charlie has always been too tall, too skinny and too wild to ever be considered a proper nyonya. Her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother are always looking on in disapproval, yet Charlie knows she must follow her heart in career and in love. That becomes complicated when three men fight for her affection, a major smuggling ring must be investigated and the paparazzi cannot get enough of her!