Set in the twilight of the Raj, this internationally acclaimed historical novel tells the story of the Partition of India through the eyes of the two wives of a wealthy Sikh. Sixteen-year-old Roop is elated when she discovers that she will marry Oxford-educated Sardarji. But Sardarji's first wife is humiliated and enraged by his secret marriage to a village girl who is as fertile as she is barren. Pretending to be solicitous of her young rival, Satya takes charge of Roop's children and secretly plots her downfall.

Domestic politics rival India's volatile national politics as both women risk all I nthe escalating tension.