Originally published: 2014.
Six-year old Shivan is boarded up in his grandmother's mansion in Sri Lanka. While civil unrest brews outside, he is fighting small battles of his own: the matriach of his mysterious family wants to groom him as the heir to her vast and corrupt empire. He stands helpless as she sidelines his mother and sister and evicts vulnerable families from their homes. Unwilling to carry the burden of her expectations, he dreams of escape to the West. Yet ghosts will follow you across continents. As the years pass, and his sexuality gradually comes to light, events spiral out of control and threaten to separate him from his family once and for all.