Identical twins – Mukti and Lila are close, yet different! Born two-and-a-half minutes apart, they think and act in opposite ways. Mukti longs to move beyond the complex family structures, cocooned within the Indian customs while Lila is a dreamer. Their English friend Elizabeth has similar hopes of transcending traditional boundaries.

Personal tragedy, a burgeoning national movement for independence and sweeping social reforms propel both sisters into the world outside their narrow domestic walls. New relationships and a string of events challenge their loyalties while lives are uprooted as the world changes.

The sisters struggle to control their lives and loves as the sub-continent labours to give birth to a new nation. Nothing is permanent, yet everything is connected. Elizabeth joins them in their battles while fighting her own.

Set against the intriguing backdrop of India’s multifaceted society and travelling through nearly fifty years of history, the author challenges the reader to ask who is the rose and who is the thorn.

Paperback available from author: $15.00 plus postage - Contact at: iganguly@bigpond.com