Good girl, good student, good daughter: Aki has always done what her loving but demanding multiracial family expects. Far from her Vancouver home, she adjusts to life in London—studies, friends, and a relationship with a wealthy but closeted Asian woman.

Life is demanding, but Aki is coping until a violent incident trig­gers an unexpected response in the young Japanese-Canadian woman. When she discovers that brutal bar-fighting relieves her stress, she begins a dangerous dual existence—obedient, accommodating and loving by day, and brawling and bar fight­ing by night.

Her parents struggle to come to terms with the discovery of their daughter’s sexuality, although her beloved, very different brother supports her. But how would he and her friends react if they knew of her violent, secret life as an “atomweight” fighter?

This is a novel about the need to reconcile competing cultures, traditions, and values that also explores issues of sexual identity and violence.