The ancient practice of sati - the self-immolation of a woman on her husband's funeral pyre - was outlawed by the British administration in India in 1829. Since Independence, the practice was widely believed to have died out. The recent fate of a young woman, Roop Kanwar, has changed that perception. This book is part journey through the India that the author knows and loves, part exploration of the enigma that India still remains in the minds of many. Starting with Roop Kanwar, Sen enters the worlds of three women: a goddess, a burned bride, and a murderess, and shows how, in this society in which ancient and modern apparently comfortably co-exist, there is increasingly cause for real alarm. She creates an image of a state in which political turmoil is constantly at the surface, and in which the role of women is being constantly redefined.