LONGLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE‘Beautifully written, ridiculously erudite, warm and open-hearted’ The Times‘Compelling and poignant’ Guardian‘This is travel writing at its best’ Observer Internationally bestselling William Dalrymple takes us to the heart of an undiscovered India. A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet - then spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the violence by hand printing the best prayer flags in India.A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve herself to death. Nine people, nine lives; each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story.William Dalrymple delves deep into the heart of a nation torn between the relentless onslaught of modernity and the ancient traditions that endure to this day.