Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English school in Saigon. When his only son gets in trouble, Percival is forced to send him away. Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, and Laing Jai, a son born on the eve of the Tet offensive. Soon he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see. He is also a bon vivant, a compulsive gambler and an incorrigible womanizer. He is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of the Chen Academy.