A gripping biography of R.K. Dalmia, the most flamboyant character India produced in the last century. Like a meteor, he flashed across the firmament in a blaze of glory before being reduced to the ashes of ignominy in a prison, convicted of fraud.

An odd mixture of Puritanism and profligacy, and a sadist who tortured his family of six wives and eighteen children, he broke all the laws of God and man. Written by his daughter Neelima Dalmia Adhar, who loved and loathed him with equal passion, this book makes the most compelling reading.

A sinister curse trails the House of Loya, a Marwari family of arms dealers-turned-hoteliers-turned-airline-owners that head a vast conglomerate of industries. The Loyas are known for their proximity to power centres, a position they ruthlessly exploit to their advantage. Leading oddly distorted lives where immorality and sexual perversions are infinitely glorified they cruise along mindlessly even as they become victims of strange mishaps and untold tragedies. The Loyas are strong and distinctive entities given to the vagaries of the super rich.

Set in India in the second half of the last century, the narrative spans four generations of a class of people engaged in the insane pursuit of wealth on a track that leads them straight to hell. The story gives a scathing insight on the lives of the Marwaris, also known as the Jews of India, highly religious, very private people who at times lead lurid and decadent lives.