Dazzling... Modern thriller, Ramayan epic,courtroom drama, slapstick comedy, wartime adventure,political satire, village legend--they're all blended here magnificently.

This is the story of Maximilian Ophuls, America's counterterrorism chief, one of the makers of the modern world; his Kashmiri Muslim driver and subsequent killer, a mysterious figure who calls himself Sha!imar the clown; Max's illegitimate daughter, India; and a woman w.ho links them, whose revelation finally explains them all. It is an epic narrative with tales of princesses lured from their homes by demons,and kings forced to defend their kingdoms against evil. And there is always love, uncommonly beautiful and mortally dangerous.