In the north-eastern Himalayas, at the foot of Mount Kanchenjunga, in a crumbling isolated house, there lives a cantankerous old judge, who wants nothing more than to retire in peace. But with the arrival of his orphaned granddaughter, Sai, and the son of his chatty cook trying to make his way in the US and stay a step ahead of the immigration services, this is far from easy.When a Nepalese insurgency threatens the blossoming romance between Sai and her handsome tutor, they, too, are forced to consider their colliding interests. And the judge must revisit his past, his own journey and his role in this grasping world of conflichting desires - every moment holding out the possibility of hope or betrayal.A story of such depth and emotion, hilarity and imagination, rich, beautiful and infinitely wise, The Inheritance of Loss is a glorious second novel from the author of the universally praised Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard.--back cover