India has split apart by 2047, into a dozen competing states desperate for the life-giving monsoon rains. New castes have appeared, as have the new gender of nutes. Aeais (artificial in­tel­li­gences) abound but are strictly proscribed from attaining full sentience. And an asteroid with seven-billion-year-old images of now-living people has been discovered.

McDonald draws together nine people from different walks of life, weaving their tales into one tapestry. India, ancient yet up-to-the-minute, is the vibrant backdrop for this explosion of ideas.