Hotel owner Auntie Sanni has entertained all manner of guests during her many years as hostess at Patna Hall, a popular vacation spot on the lush Coromandel coast. Now, with an election coming, business is especially brisk, and her hotel is packed with Indian politicians, British diplomats, journalists, American tourists - even an elephant, and a woman of mystery or two.

Among the vacationers are Mary and Blaise, a young English couple on their honeymoon. But where Mary is enchanted by the colours, sounds and vibrant Indian life, prim and priggish Blaise sees only squalor, sordidness and a Coromandel Sea teeming with sharks.

Matters are only made worse when Mary becomes interested in local Indian politics - particularly the handsome, exquisitely spoken candidate Krishnan, whose kindness and wisdom are like a balm for her spirit …

The acclaimed author of Black Narcissus returns again to her beloved India with a novel brimming with heart, wit, unforgettable characters, and ‘a sense of timelessness reminiscent of E. M. Forster’ (The Times).