Chain of Souls — Dan Armstrong

It's the first year of India's independence from England. The creation of two nations, India for the Hindus, Pakistan for the Muslims, has become a nightmare of ethnic clashes and terrorism. Just as the violence is showing signs of easing, Gandhi is assassinated. With the entire subcontinent teetering on the edge of chaos, Roger Taylor, an American working for the British intelligence service, is called on to defuse a series of death fasts protesting the partition of India-something that can only add tension to an already volatile situation. When the hardboiled Taylor arrives in the sacred city of Haridwar to confront the protesters, he encounters a woman who completely disarms him with her goodwill and depth of spirit. What begins as a political mission for Taylor unexpectedly becomes an excursion into Tibetan metaphysics and a life-changing glimpse into the workings of the wheel of life and death.