Set in the background of Singapore's struggle for independence, the narrative explores the notion of predestination. Determined to live a life far removed from that of her mother's and grandmother's, the protagonist, Lisa, sets off on her own to discover a life beyond her comfort zone. In this journey of discovery, she is wrenched from her traditional mode of thinking as she confronts betrayal, homosexuality, wife-battering, murder, suicide, fraud and lechery. Rosaly Puthucheary has constructed an engrossing tale with allusions to the myths and legends of this region. The Vedic astrological sign, the Dragon's Tail, which hangs like a hostile force over the protagonist, becomes a metaphor for the unknown forces she must encounter to finally reach her destiny.