A three-generational novel of a Sri Lankan family's search for coherence and continuity in a country broken by colonial occupation and driven by ethnic wars. Saha looks for that coherence in a return to traditional values, Rajan in a quest for modernity that takes him to the mother country, and Vijay in a fight for socialism that ends in terror. But through the travail of their lives emerges the possibility of another future. Winner of the Sagittarius Prize. Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. "Movingly details how three generations of idealists try to find meaning and purpose as their country, Sri Lanka, becomes another killing field."-Kirkus Reviews. "The author evokes a compelling and very human story of a lost country. It is a vision as beautifully told as it is unrelenting in its devotion to truth."-Booklist.