Uneasy Partners challenges much of the conventional wisdom about the way capitalism and colonialism joined forces to transform Hong Kong into one of the world's great cities.

Its setting is a refugee city embarked upon high-speed economic growth but denied the political institutions to match an increasingly sophisticated society. Its background is the rise of a powerful but communist China, Beijing's transition from Cold War to "open-door" policies and Britain's retreat from empire.

The principal actors are the colonial rulers who were prepared to sacrifice Britain's diplomatic and commercial interests in order to ensure Hong Kong's survival, and their chosen allies from the Chinese business elite whose priorities did not include honest and efficient administration.

The analysis deploys case studies of the clash of interests between the alien colonials and their Chinese constituents and the conflict between a pro-business government and its political and social responsibilities.