WITH A Paradise of Illusions, go on a quest to the most fascinating and unique islands in the world and its rich, diverse, multicultural traditions at a time when eligible Chinese maidens were paraded in cars during the Chap Goh Meh Festival, a turn on the dance floor could be purchased at a Taxi Dance, and romantic Hollywood movies were all the rage at the cinema, but arranged marriages were still the expectation for almost everyone.

Through three central multi-faceted characters, Anna, a strong-willed Eurasian woman; Tong, an idealistic Chinese doctor; and Rizal, a homosexual Malay businessman, explore the choices, challenges and compromises each of these characters has to make.