Set in London at the beginning of World War I, this novel follows Firoze Hazari, a young man from South Asia. After getting his degree from Oxford, he is supposed to return home, marry a nice girl chosen by his parents, settle down and join the family business. Instead, Firoze stays in England, and gets a job in London's financial sector. That doesn't last long, and, after losing his job, Firoze's only option seems to be to join the British military. He finds himself in Europe, right in the middle of the war.

This is a really good historical novel. It works as a novel, and the author has certainly done his historical research. It almost, but not quite, reaches the level of 5 stars. ( )