Tahir Shah set out to seek to learn first hand from the great masters of Indian tradition - masters of illusion, deception and street fraud - to investigate and come to understand the strategies behind their artifice. It details his apprenticeship to one of India's great conjurors, and includes encounters with various people and groups who have developed seemingly unusual or extraordinary talents or abilities such as god-men, magicians and hypnotists. Aimed at travellers, readers of travel literature and those who simply want to know how the Indian rope trick' is done and with an interest in Indian esoterica, Tahir Shah provides an insight into an India rarely, if ever, seen by the tourist.