She missed the sense of values shivraj had planted like roses with his two hands it was their fragrance, something as ephemeral as that, that had bound the country together in a unity, not any hidebound principle or rule from a book' shivraj is dead and with him the values with which he had governed the country for over a decade while his successors destroy the idealistic world he had built, shivraj's circle of intimate friends-his sister devi, the education minister; usman ali, vice chancellor of delhi university; and michael calvert, an english writer-struggle to find order in the chaos, even as rishad, devi's son, loses himself in it juxtaposing the conflict of personal relationships with the larger canvas of corrupt politics in a situation in new delhi, nayantara sahgal masterfully weaves a tale that grips the reader from start to finish a brilliant and provocative piece of fact-based fiction'-financial times a moving, even inspiring novel'-sunday times