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Forward | Part 1, Chapter 1

• The author's forward informs readers that this novel is based on his own personal experiences during World War II.

• Jim, who is eleven years old, is ushered with the other choirboys at Dean of Shanghai Cathedral into the Cathedral's crypt on the morning of December 7, 1941, to watch war-related newsreels.

• Jim's family chauffeur drives Jim home through Shanghai's crowded streets, leaning on the horn and using a leather riding crop through the open window to move beggar children and other pedestrians out of the way.

• At home, Jim changes into his costume for the Christmas party his family will attend that afternoon; he is looking forward both to the party and to a free evening in the house while his parents are having dinner and his governess, Vera, is visiting her parents.

• Jim joins his parents in his father's study, where they are listening to war...

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