Vanessa takes her mother, Marion, to India, where she grew up. Ashgari holds many memories for Marion, but for her daughter, it is a place her mother has kept from her. Marion went to school in the hill station town, but her time there was overshadowed by a tragic event that she hasn't thought about in many years.

Life has moved on, not only were Marion's schooldays in the final moments of the British Raj, much has changed though the old Ashagiri Club is still in business, very much fading grandeur. In the Glenside Hotel, the two women are thrown together with other visitors to the town, of different nationalities and social circumstances. Marion looks back on her past, with the advantage of hindsight, seeing that not everything is as it seems. Vanessa, running away from her life at home, is pulled between two men, both of whom are putting her off balance.

I read this on a long journey, I was in the mood for some mother - daughter drama, but was pleased to see that there was to the book. I enjoyed the added dimension of the unsolved tragedy at the school, heightening the tension and driving the plot on. ( )