'... one day, Sharan arrived. His virile body, his golden hair, the look that glowed in his pale eyes, intense, brooding all of this threw her into a turmoil. Subhadra fell madly in love.'

A beautiful young man condemned to death for a crime of passion; his lover, the beauti ful courtesan whom he kills but continues to mourn and yearn for; and a lonely young widow burning with unrequited desire. This love triangle set in twelfth century Bengal, moving between the royal city of Gaur and the forests and rivers of rural Bengal, centres on the fate of the romtha, the branded criminal who awaits his own death. Ironically named Sharan-refuge-there is no refuge for the protagonist of this tale of passion, vengeance and the overwhelming hunger for life.