In 1943 on Bougainville Island, New Guinea, a Japanese officer beheads Hugh Rand, an Australian spy—a coast watcher. Spectators at the execution include villagers Rand terrorised as his mind frayed under the stress of pursuit by Japanese soldiers and their hounds. Rand’s influence transcends his death. For decades he plagues people who strive to cope with him and one another in New Guinea, the Gilbert Islands, Australia and Japan. Who misperceives? Lies? Self-destructs? Suffers? Loves? The layers unfold through cultural, historical and intellectual curtains, deep into minds disturbed by the Pacific War and Hugh Rand’s legacy.