"A sparkling travelogue and a poignant journey of self-discovery all in one. . . . Alka Joshi
is simply the best!" — Kate Quinn New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and
The Rose Code From the New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist this
sweeping novel of identity and self-discovery takes readers from Bombay to Prague Florence
Paris and London to uncover the mystery behind a famous painter' s death. When renowned
painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage she' s expected
to make a quick recovery and her nurse Sona is excited to learn more about the vivacious
artist who shares her half-Indian identity. Sona yearning for a larger life finds herself
carried away by Mira' s stories of her travels and exploits and is shocked by accounts of
the many lovers the painter has left scattered throughout Europe. When Mira dies quite suddenly
and mysteriously Sona falls under suspicion and her quiet life is upended. The key to
proving Sona' s innocence may lie in a cryptic note and four paintings Mira left in her care
sending the young woman on a mission to visit the painter' s former friends and lovers
across a tumultuous Europe teetering toward war. On the precipice of discovering her own
identity Sona learns that the painter' s charming facade hid a far more complicated
troubled soul. In her first stand-alone novel since her bestselling debut The Henna Artist
Alka Joshi uses the life of painter Amrita Sher-Gil the "Frida Kahlo of India " as inspiration
for the story' s beginning to explore how far we' ll travel to determine where we truly
belong. Discover more novels from Alka Joshi: THE HENNA ARTIST THE SECRET KEEPER OF JAIPUR
THE PERFUMIST OF PARIS
