The story of Hong Kong has long been obscured by competing myths, even to its own inhabitants, its distinctive origins remained untaught and unknown. Lim's deeply researched - and deeply personal - account casts often startling new light on key moments and contemporary figures: the British takeover in 1842, the negotiations leading to its 'return' to China in 1997, the current protests, the future Beijing seeks to impose, guerilla calligraphers, amateur historians and archaeologists, and the King of Kowloon, a mentally ill trash collector descended of royalty.