During the Malayan guerrilla war in the 1950s, Ah Lin is a Chinese amah, a children's nurse, to a British family, the Creasleys. Unbeknown to the family Ah Lin is also a secret courier working for the communist guerrillas and her brother is a guerrilla soldier in the jungle. And unbeknown to Ah Lin, Mrs Creasley works in Special Branch in the Malay police. The Creasley family, in particular the daughter Mary, suffer from the constant threat of guerrilla terrorism against the British. And for Ah Lin's family there is deep anxiety and tension as the war progresses. They know that if Ah Lin's double life is exposed she will be charged with treason and hanged. In the end these fears materialise in an unexpected way.