During the years spanning from 1949 to 1961, communist insurgents fought some 100,000 British troops in the hopes of ending the British presence in Malaya. "What was it like living during that time? What role did the community of women play in the situation? What compromises did they have to make to survive?" Answers lie in this enlightening collection of 16 real-life stories--Malayan women reveal their innermost thoughts on their hopes for a new society, their changing lives, their evolving role in society, and their relationships with their male counterparts.