This masterful novel by Amitav Ghosh, which begins with the British invasion of Burma in 1885, tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy who made his fortune in troubled times of political chaos and created an empire trading in Burmese teak wood. When soldiers force the royal family to leave the Glass Palace and go into exile, Rajkumar meets Dolly, a young servant at the court of the Burmese queen, whose love will change his destiny. He will not be able to forget her and many years later, having become rich, he will go in search of her. An epic story, a family saga of love and war with a cast of memorable characters that spans three generations, three families and three countries - Burma, Malaya and India, before a time when the doors of Burma closed and the dazzling light of this once great civilization was extinguished.