as Susan Macarthy, in one of her earliest notable feature roles. Julianna Margulies as Topsy Merritt, an American socialite.
The story begins in February 1942 at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where a social gathering is interrupted by the Japanese invasion. A group of women and children flee on a boat, only for it to be bombed by Japanese aircraft. The survivors, including a British musician named (Glenn Close) and an Australian nurse Susan Macarthy (Cate Blanchett), eventually wash up on the shores of Japanese-occupied Sumatra.
as Adrienne Pargiter (based on the real-life Norah Chambers).
as Margaret Drummond (based on Margaret Dryburgh).