Uma, Dhruv, Madhavi - The Oxford returned Indians, moving in a gilded world of social privilege and Jai Prakash. The outsider with the 'wrong' accent, who has the mysterious power to change their destinies. A many layered story that explores the conflicts of love, ambition - and of being a stranger in your own land. Uma, he England returned graduate. Academic Madhavi and journalist Dhruv. Civil servant Shantanu and his wife Anusuya. Deekay, the middle-class revolutionary. Pamela Sen, the dedicated teacher. Ikram Gilchrist, the famous author. Are they the irrelevant Indians? In the new India, do they matter at all? The old social order is changing. Those born into English-speaking privilege must yield ground for others. The vernacular man has only himself, but his belonging gives him a peculiar power. What is Jai Prakash's destiny? - Jai Prakash who carries a treasured secret. Fat Mrs. Khurana with the uncertain accent is not what she seems. And why is a mysterious gang of thieves stealing rare books from the houses of the well heeled? Sam, a visiting Englishman, cannot understand Uma's fear of him. Many forces seethe in urban India today, and those who must participate in the social change stand to lose themselves and their colonial attitudes. But in the process, they could also gain a new world and perhaps a more just peace. A tragicomedy of manners, which holds up the severe clashes of social class in modern India. Sagarika Ghose was born and educated in New Delhi. She was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in 1987 and since 1991 has worked as a journalist in New Delhi. She is married with two children. This is her first novel.