Living the Legacy is the last tale in the Strands of Gold Trilogy, bringing the lives of the three main characters - Dick, Chin Ming, and Wing Yee - to a point where they are ready to step out on their own. It's now 1830; Dick, the adopted son of Stamford Raffles, is a successful artist, but when he welcomes his friend Chin Ming and her husband Edmund back to Singapore after four years in England, his life changes. He realizes his focus has strayed from the ideals that Raffles sanctioned; values and beliefs that he wants to call his own. To rectify the situation, he begins seeking out the men who are smuggling young Sumatran women into Singapore to provide entertainment in a male-dominated society.

Dick and his friends are observed by a man who has recently been released from prison in Calcutta, where he spent the last seven years. He is hell-bent on revenge, but as Raffles is now dead, those who received his patronage must be held accountable.

"Elisabeth Conway's fiction is underpinned by her deep connection with Southeast Asia over many years and her fascination with its peoples and their history. She skillfully traces the lives of individuals caught up in the issues of their times, creating warm characters with strong bonds of friendship and concern for justice." - Marion Molteno