ONLY AKIKO

This is another version of Madame Butterfly in Occupied Japan when Sgt. Hank Mueller of the Army carpool in Tokyo falls in love with the pretty, mercenary courtesan Akiko. She becomes his Only (i.e. she remains faithful to Mueller in return for a house and blackmarket luxuries). To fix up their menage Western style, Hank smuggles in his savings from the States and becomes an operator on the blackmarket bourse. He is caught, escapes and goes to live with Akiko in a backcountry fishing village. Although he likes the life and knows his love for Akiko is now reciprocated, he also knows that it can't continue. A severe illness takes the problem out of his hands and he gives himself up. He is to serve a light sentence in the States and promises to return to Japan. Akiko tells him not to--East is East and West is West... Authentic and interesting in background, this unsentimental tale should appeal to the readers who liked Sayonara and The World of Suzie Wong.