Based on a true story of the Irish Connaught Rangers south-east India in 1920, the novel is set in the fictional town of Nandagiri. Colonel Aylmer, commander of the Royal Irish Kildare Rangers, is in charge.  A distance away, decently hidden from view lies the native part of Nandagiri with its heaving bazaar, reeking streets and brothels. Everyone knows their place and the part they were born to play – with one exception. The local Anglo-Indians, tainted by their mixed blood, belong ... nowhere.

When news of the Black and Tans’ atrocities back in Ireland reaches the troops in India, even their priest cannot cool the men’s rage. Politics vie with passion as Private Flaherty pays court to Rose, Mrs Aylmer’s Anglo-Indian maid ... but mutiny brings heroism and heartbreak in equal measure.