The sequel to Mukherjee's debut novel, A Rising Man, picks up almost immediately where the previous book left off.
Calcutta, India, 1920. The British are trying to persuade the princes of India's royal houses to join the Chamber of Princes—an attempt to use the upper classes of native society against the growing discontent and demands for India's independence rapidly spreading through the growing middle class of educated Indians fed up with British exploitation and racism.
Crown Prince Adhir of the wealthy and influential princedom of Sambalpore vehemently opposes joining the Chamber. He has his own ambitious plans for modernizing Sambalpore. During an assembly of princes in Calcutta, Prince Adhir asks to meet with Sergeant Banerjee, an old school friend from Harrow. He tells Banerjee that he's found three notes warning of a plot to kill him, in his private chambers in the Palace in Sambalpore.
Banerjee and Captain Sam Wyndham, formerly of Scotland Yard and now with the Imperial Police in Calcutta, are with Prince Adhir when he’s assassinated by a Hindu holy man in the middle of a religious procession. Wyndham and the Sergeant go to Sambalpore, ostensibly to attend Adhir's funeral, but really they are trying to discover who was behind the plot to murder the Prince. This is not an easy task, since technically the Imperial Police have no authority in Sambalpore, and many of the men of the court refuse to cooperate with a British officer. When Wyndham wants to interview the royal women, Adhir's stepmothers, and his wife, Wyndham find the royal women live secluded from contact with men outside their family. They cannot even speak directly with a man without causing a serious scandal. The only exception seems to be the First Maharani, or wife of the ruling Maharaja. She visits the local temple almost daily, and is willing to talk to Sam. But much of what she says is couched in seeming riddles.
Who killed Prince Adhir, and why? Political and personal intrigues mean Wyndham and Banerjee have too many suspects and not enough time, for the murders are multiplying, and the clues lead in too many directions. And, he suspects, those in power would prefer not to know than to deal with the embarrassing repercussions of these crimes.
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