The baby makers are many. The couples who supply the genetic material, the embryologists who create test-tube babies, the gynecologists who insert embryos into wombs and deliver the babies and, most importantly, the surrogates themselves.

 Then there are the agents who source the surrogates, organize fertility tourism packages and even arrange for babies to be ordered over the Internet using frozen genetic material supplied by the intending parents. Eggs, sperm and viable embryos can be bought and sold like any commodity. The terrain is complex, there are thorny ethical issues involved and very delicate emotional ones too.

This is a book about surrogacy in India and how it transformed itself from a marginalized and socially unacceptable procedure into a multimillion-dollar industry. It is a non-judgmental, open-minded enquiry into surrogacy laws (rather, the lack of them) and the many cogs in the process.

Baby Makers uses rigorous journalistic research and compelling personal narratives to paint a picture that is as fascinating as it is frightening.