James Connor, burdened with guilt from a tragedy during India and Pakistan's Independence and Partition, has dedicated his life to serving India. His estranged daughter, Ruth, believing she came second to her American parents' missionary calling, rebelled as a teenager. This triggered her own devastating experience during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. After 24 years away, she finally returns to Askival, the family home in the northern hill-station of Mussoorie in Uttarakhand, to tend to her dying father. There, both must confront the past and find forgiveness if they are to cross the chasm between them and be at peace.
In this extraordinary and assured debut, Merryn Glover draws on her own upbringing in South Asia to create this sensitive, moving and panoramic journey through the turbulent history of India from Independence to the present day.