FILTH: A True Story of Excess, Collapse and Redemption in Britain and Asia

FILTH: “Failed in London, Try Hong Kong”

Peter Olsen was born in London in the middle of World War II. With a bigamist father on the run and the untimely death of his mother, Peter lived a tumultuous childhood in a cold-water apartment. Despite abject poverty, violence and family dysfunction, he found his footing working for the maker of Matchbox toys.

In 1972, Peter’s career with the firm took him to Hong Kong. Then, just as he was adjusting to a strange new life, Matchbox went bust. Undet...