Great world circus

It is night in Singapore. Down dark twisting alleyways, past the opium dens and oracles' shops, drifting through ebony bars a,d along silken breezes, moves a mysterious female figure. Utterly irresistible, utterly evanescent, she appears to a man, then retreats, leaving him forever haunted by the vision of a paradise lost. But at whose behest is she here? And what is her secret purpose?