A mysterious letter shows up from Jane Farrington postmarked Calcutta; that's the last anyone has heard from her. Nicholas Bowman, a 'useless' heir to the family fortune, is sent by Jane's mother to rescue her from India. Unemployed and unmotivated, Nicholas decides to take the bait. He ends up finding Jane-and losing her, and finding her-and much, much more. With his deep knowledge of Indian culture and philosophy, David Rubin creates a fantastical world filled with political and social criticism set beside the eternal quest for meaning humans have engaged in as long as we've been on this planet. -- The David Rubin Collection seeks to assemble the fiction, non-fiction, translations and poetry of the late American novelist and scholar David Rubin. While best known for his translations of Indian writers Premchand and Nirala, David was also a master storyteller. His 1963 novel, The Greater Darkness, won the British Authors' Club award for that year's best first novel. He remained a prolific writer until his death in 2008. His works are archived at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.