Samantha Sweeting, the 29-year-old heroine of Kinsella's latest confection (after Shopaholic Sister), is on the verge of partnership at the prestigious London law firm Carter Spink—the Holy Grail of her entire workaholic life. But when she finds she has made a terrible, costly mistake just before the partnership decision, she's terrified of being fired. In a fog, she stumbles out of the building and onto the nearest train, which drops her in the countryside, where she wanders to a stately home. The nouveau riche lady of the house mistakes her for the new housekeeper—and Samantha is too astonished to correct her.
It is long after the death of Earth. A band of men and women on a colony planet has gained control of technology. With it, they have given themselves immortalty and godlike powers, and they rule their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon: Kali, Goddess of Destruction; Yama, Lord of Death; Krishna, God of Lust. All are opposed by him who was Siddhartha, who is now Mahasamatman, Binder of Demons, Lord of Light
This labyrinthine and extraordinary book, first published more than fifty years ago, was the outcome of Graves's vast reading and curious research into strange territories of folklore, mythology, religion and magic. Erudite and impassioned, it is a scholar-poet's quest for the meaning of European myths, a polemic about the relations between man and woman, and also an intensely personal document in which Graves explored the sources of his own inspiration and, as he believed, all true poetry.
Zar Boaz is preparing for the imminent arrival of the Galinsean fleet and it seems inevitable that the realm will be plunged into war. His only hope is to use Lazar as a bargaining chip but despite the necessity for him to be in the city for the negotiations, the Spur is determined to travel back to the desert to rescue the abducted Zaradine Ana and bring her home. However, finding Ana will not be a simple task. She is being held by the despotic Arafanz and his fanatical followers and as it slowly becomes clear what the presumed madman plans for Percheron, Ana does not know if she is to survive ...and if she is, to what end?
