In a rural Indian village, two families live on opposite sides of the social divide. Vijaya and her sister Sree belong to the wealthy landowning Deshmukh family, whose status and power are absolute. Krishna and Ranga are the sons of a widowed servant in the Deshmukh household. But Vijaya and Krishna - despite their vastly different backgrounds – have developed a secret bond.

One summer the four children set off to track down a man-eating tiger that is roaming through the jungle near their home. The hunt, and its catastrophic consequences, will link their fates forever, rippling through their lives and scattering them to different corners of India.

Years later, as armed revolts erupt across the land, Vijaya and Krishna find themselves irresistibly drawn back to one another. But this is not the country they once knew: India is changing, burning from the inside out. When the violence reaches their village, a shocking act of vengeance threatens to engulf them all.

About the Author: 

Ruthvika Rao is from Hyderabad, India. Her debut novel, The Fertile Earth, was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Chautauqua Prize, the Crossword Book Award, and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. She has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa and the University of Toronto. Her second novel, All Our Evenings, is forthcoming in September 2026.

What Our Reviewers Said:

"The writing in the book is, to me, exceptional. The way the author describes people, and their internal worlds, is as vivid and compelling as her descriptions of the beauty and chaos of their surroundings."

"I loved everything about this novel. The writing is strong and sensual, powerfully evocative of the landscape of India and its culture."

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