STRAIT OF MALACCA, 1599. The Dutch fleet under the command of Cornelis broke through the Strait of Malacca, burning villages and killing the men defending the land of Aceh, leaving behind women who had lost their husbands. In the midst of destruction, they chose not to become victims. Those women took up arms and formed a force the enemy never reckoned with: an army of widows! When the Dutch came to conquer Aceh, they encountered something far harder to subdue than any war fleet in the world: women fighting to defend their homes and protect their children.