The novel features two main narratives in alternating chapters. The first narrative is set in Khon Kaen Thailand in 1970. This narrative follows the developing love story between Tuum and Roong. Tuum is a high school mathematics teacher and Roong has been forced to work in a wealthy family's home to pay off a family debt. As they fall deeply in love, Roong's circumstances become more precarious and dangerous. The second narrative in present day Thailand follows Canadian ex-pat Ed Linn, married to a Thai woman. While Ed is helping her great uncle Song harvest his rice crop, he witnesses a murder. He soon learns that there are very powerful and complicated connections between him and the murder victim. Over time these connections get more and more complicated and eventually this narrative converges with the first narrative.
