A quirky, much - loved novel about a return home, a past love affair and an elephant. ''It is many years since I turned the pages of the little book I wrote for the holy man, and the ivory covers creak as I open on the story of how I went to India ... As my voice ascends, thin as the song of a lark, I see again the black eyes of the holy man, irises flecked with gold as he hands me the pen and paper. 'Oh sing to me, dreamer,' he said, and I began to write.'' Back home as she sorts out her deceased Mother's estate, Margaret Harris reflects on her time in India as mistress to a Maharajah. But there are many things that she has to confront in the present - her bullying lawyer, the aggressive neighbour, and the spectre of her failed relationship with her mother.