Created by Lavinia Warner, Tenko told the forgotten real-life story of the women prisoners of the Japanese who for three-and-a-half years suffered severe privations in barely habitable Sumatran camps. Written by Jill Hyem, Anne Valery and Paul Wheeler, the series followed the experiences of one particular group of women from the Fall of Singapore in February 1942 and their subsequent internment, through to their liberation in September 1945 and their ensuing attempts to rebuild their shattered lives. A feature-length reunion special set in 1950, rounded off the series.