Max Gate, an American travel writer and his once beloved friend, Byron Mallick, a charming and refined Bengali businessman, meet again in extraordinary circumstances on the shores of Bengal. It is the eve of the transit of Venus in 2004. Byron is facing charges of murdering a crusading journalist, Damini, whose cousin, Ela, haunts Max's being years after their love affair has ended. Ela ricochets between her deep attachment to Byron, her loyalty to her husband and her desperate love for Max. Meanwhile Max's former brother-in-law, Piers O'Reilly, is determined to bring Byron to justice. Will Max confront Byron and demand the truth about Damini’s death? As this gripping and intricately layered tale unfolds, all certitudes about love, friendship and morality dissolve into tantalising ambiguity, defying easy resolution. In the end, only the redemptive power of memory seems able to seal the scars of loss and betrayal.