The author Daphne and her husband Charles were prisoners of war in Java from 1942-45 and suffered great hardship at the hands of the invading Japanese, poignantly described in Daphne's first book, 'Java Nightmare'. Being senior manager of the vast Anglo-Dutch plantations seemed to provide an idyllic way of life in the pre-war Dutch colonial times, but the dark days of war cast a shadow on their lives, described vividly in the author's second book, 'Go East Young Woman'.

'Unhappy Returns' describes their life in post-war England and then in Java at a time of great danger when the Indonesians were fighting the Dutch to regain their territory. How do they come to terms with sharp shooters and bullets tearing through the bedroom? Will this courageous and exceptional English couple ever return home to enjoy a quiet farming life in Cornwall? Daphne Jackson's story is one of heroic stamina in the face of great danger and difficulty.