Kunal Basu's panoramic first novel follows the life of a young man as he encounters the flow of the opium trade, from Calcutta to Canton. He gets a job in an 'auction house', only to discover that the 'merchandise' being traded is opium. Disguised as a missionary, Hiran survives cholera, piracy and war in China, arriving back in India to find his homeland on the verge of another rebellion. And he finds himself suddenly father to a half-caste son, the child abandoned by the English owners of the auction house when they fled back in disgrace to Britain. As Hiran dedicates himself to the education of his new son, the cycle of regeneration continues.