In the hardcover book Van Friese klei tot tropenuniform (From Frisian Clay to Tropical Uniform), the lives of Anne from Friesland, his Indonesian wife Charlotte, and their children change drastically when Japan invades the Dutch East Indies. Life in the camps or as outsiders is hard. Will they ever see each other again?

The hardcover book From Frisian Clay to Tropical Uniform by Gerda Hartkamp is about Anne from Friesland. He is nineteen years old when he enlists as a soldier in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL). Once there, he meets Charlotte, the love of his life, and they lead a pleasant life.
Until the Japanese invade the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese superiority defeats the Dutch army and all soldiers are transported to an internment camp. For Anne, this is the beginning of a terrible time.

Charlotte is only twenty-eight years old at the time when she finds herself pregnant and with four small children, forced to survive as an 'outdoor camper' under harsh conditions. In Bandung, she lives in constant fear of being imprisoned in the women's camp with her children by a Dutch man.
While Anne fights for his life in a prisoner-of-war camp, Charlotte tries to keep herself and the children alive under the Japanese regime. When Anne is transferred for the third time, the question arises whether she will ever see him alive again.