At twelve o'clock the soldiers come to my school. "Everyone out! You're going to be soldiers," a tall soldier shouts. I don't want to be a soldier. I turn and run. And this is how my journey starts.--From back cover

Captain Arman built his domain on a picturesque island near Santubong which was named Arman Island. It became the lifeblood of the small pirates community. The developing township was a buzzing centre for the pirates community. It was a community complete with daily chores like any other communities. They had their own set of laws like marriage, buying and selling goods. It was a thriving centre for the pirates activities. It became well known in the Malay Archipelago. Captain Arman continued his conquests on foreign merchant ships passing by Arman Island. He was very successful at what he was doing. He became a threat to the Sarawak Sultanate. It was because of that he was constantly being pursued by Sultan Ali and the British. But it didnt dither him from his advancement to achieve his dreams. Arman Island was close by Kuching town, a capital of the Sarawak Sultanate. Captain Arman was fortunate to tie the knot with the youngest princess of the Sarawak Sultanate, Princess Diana. They raised a family and lived happily. Captain Arman and Princess Diana were blessed with two sons and a daughter. Everything went well until Sultan Ali sent his army and the British army to destroy the settlement on Arman Island. After the island was attacked, the pirates settlement was completely demolished. What happened after that remains a question. Could it be a catastrophe or a turning point?

Growing up anywhere in this world is hard no matter where you come from but life as we know it isn’t easy I have made several mistakes and I have failed a lot of task but I have also passed just as many so the reality of it is that no matter what came or didn’t go through I stood strong held on to my faith and continue to move forward, doing whatever it took for me to do, my life isn’t over it’s just beginning and I can’t wait to see what’s next you never think good people get hurt but they do and it’s painful and sad what we go through because of the golden hearts that we possess and because of the fact that we stay true we accept you go out of our ways and do whatever we need to do and when the table flips they up and vanish without a Trace or a clue it is sad but yes these things are true but just remember this when that messes over with go back to loving you because there is no one that can love you the way you truly do be blessed.

New Directions proudly introduces two novels in English by the Norwegian master, who is “without question, Norway’s bravest, most intelligent novelist” (Per Petterson) Armand is a diplomat rising through the ranks of the Norwegian foreign office, but he’s caught between his public duty to support foreign wars in the Middle East and his private disdain for Western intervention. He hides behind knowing, ironic statements, which no one grasps and which change nothing. Armand’s son joins the Norwegian SAS to fight in the Middle East, despite being specifically warned against such a move by his father, and this leads to catastrophic, heartbreaking consequences. Told exclusively in footnotes to an unwritten book, this is Solstad’s radically unconventional novel about how we experience the passing of time: how it fragments, drifts, quickens, and how single moments can define a life.

Jules Dufour, a Jewish banker in Paris, devised a complex scheme (involving his son Armand) to save the family and the family bank from liquidation when Germany invaded France in 1940. The scheme worked, but it needed the co-operation of Sheikh Ghassan, the Amir (ruler) of Abdali Umm-Qasr, an oil-rich French dependency. Ghassan had reason to believe that, at the end of the war, his country would gain its independence and control the oilfield. However, under pressure from the USA, this only happened years later, in a deal negotiated by Jules in 1945. Sheikh Khalil, Amir from 1965, saw the deal as a betrayal by Jules. In 2010, as a very old man, he wants revenge - which he delegates to his nephew Omar, head of the government's IT procurement agency. Khalil induces Armand, head of the bank from 1955, to open a subsidiary in Abdali Umm-Qasr, managed by Frederick Chapman from the bank's Vienna office. Omar has a secret hold over Frederick's wife Laura and can use her, if necessary, to put pressure on the bank. Omar approaches Frederick for a huge IT loan, which is granted without involving Laura. However, he has planted a flaw in the loan, so that it will not be repaid and will destroy the bank. He has diverted part of the loan to his girlfriend Trudi's business in Vienna, where she is one of Frederick's customers. Learning of a connection between Omar,Trudi and Laura, Frederick asks his wife about this. She alerts him to Omar's designs, and he discovers the booby trap in the loan - but with the bank's reputation and Laura's liberty at stake there is no way out. Armand, long retired, appeals to Khalil directly. Khalil won't listen, but has a change of heart when Armand tells him that Laura (Khalil's distant relative!) is being exploited by Omar. Khalil wanted to damage the bank, not destroy it, and says that Omar has acted disgracefully. He defuses the plot, and the bank survives. Frederick deals with Trudi, and is revealed as Armand's grandson - and the next head of the bank.

War brings Kei, a gentle healer from an isolated village, into collision with Arman, an embittered, honourable general, a man trapped in a loveless marriage and joylessly wedded to duty. The fate of two nations will rest on these two men'and somehow they must not only learn to overcome their own personal difficulties, but bring peace with honour to their countries. If they fail...many will die.