In 1825 William Savage is an official in the East India Company, committed to the people of his remote district and British rule in India. During the course of his duties he witnesses a double murder and stumbles upon the society of the thuggee, a secret cult that has flourished in India for 200 years and murdered over a million people. When Savage discovers a mass grave, including the body of a recently killed British officer, his investigation leads him to infiltrate, while disguised, the cult. He learns their secrets but finds himself drawn to the ecstasy of ritual killing. Can his sense of honour prevail, can he destroy the thuggees?

A twentieth century classic novel of colonialism in India

About the Author
Few other Anglo-Indian writers were so entwined in the history of modern India as John Masters. He was the fifth member of his family to serve with the British Army in India, serving in the Fourth Prince of Wales' Own Gurkha Rifles on the North-West Frontier. During World War II, he fought in the Middle East before joining General Wingate's Chindits in Burma. He rose to the rank of General before retiring from the army in 1948. John Masters published 25 books before his death in 1983.

Reviews
He organizes and controls the swift-moving, exciting narrative with the unobtrusive brilliance of a first-class military strategist. -- The Observer
Simply as gripping exotic tales, his books read splendidly still... but they deserve to be read also as a revelation to the young and a reminder to the old of a vanished world. -- The Tablet
The story, which is as exciting as any I have read for a long time... Readable, vivid and spectacular. -- C.P. Snow * Sunday Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9780285642607
Author John Masters
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Souvenir Press Ltd
Publisher Profile Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 200g
Dimensions(mm) 208mm * 130mm * 20mm