'This is an utterly charming novel. The setting is exotic and the characters are intriguing. Nilima Rao is an author well worth discovering.’ - Alexander McCall Smith, bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series

1914, Fiji: Akal Singh, 25, would rather be anywhere but this tropical paradise – or, as he calls it, ‘this godforsaken island’. After a promising start to his police career in Hong Kong, Akal has been sent to the far flung colony of Fiji as punishment for a humiliating professional mistake. Lonely and grumpy, Akal plods through his work and dreams of a return to Hong Kong, or even his native India.

An indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugarcane plantation and Fiji’s newspapers scream ‘kidnapping’, just as the Indian indentured servitude program is being scrutinised for alleged abuses. Fiji’s inspector-general reluctantly assigns Akal the case, as the senior Indian police officer available. Akal, eager to achieve redemption, agrees – but soon finds himself far more invested than he could ever have expected.

Join us in our online book club for an opportunity to meet the author, share ideas with other enthusiastic readers and gain new perspectives on our own family history research. This event is FREE for Society members - if you are not yet a member, we'd love you to join!

How does it work?

SAG Book Club events are free to SAG members. Each event runs via Zoom for 1.5 hours. Sometimes we will be joined by the book’s author or another special guest, and sometimes we’ll have opportunities for small discussion groups to share our reactions and insights with fellow SAG members: www.sag.org.au/BookClub

This event will be held via the ZOOM Platform.

This webinar will be recorded, so you can either watch it live or watch it later.