Kirjahaku

Life was difficult for Lovinia as the half-Sinhalese, half-Portuguese lead dancer in her father's dance troupe. But when she catches the eye of the newly arrived Governor of the Crown Colony of Ceylon, her fortunes change dramatically.The autocratic Governor, smitten by Lovinia's obvious charms but wary of the disapprovals of a narrow-minded British society, builds a stately country mansion on a promontory overlooking the sea close to the village of Galkissa, just a few miles south of Colombo, where she lives. An underground tunnel from the mansion's cellar allows Lovinia to visit him regularly to conduct their affair secretly. Life on the island is colourful and exotic, but an undercurrent of violence beneath the bright fa ade brings excitement and danger to her life. Lovinia is caught up in a treacherous mission and is torn between two very different lives. Will she follow her head or her heart?

Civil war is threatening to tear the island nation of Sri Lanka apart.One of David's intelligence operatives' stumbles across a plot by a group of tea estate workers to establish an independent state in the middle of the country. David, on active duty in the north, must convince his superiors that the threat in the hill country is real but then something goes terribly wrong. Priyani in her role as an international relief coordinator, must contend with David's continued absence and a terrible humanitarian crisis caused by the fighting. Having to deal with a bloated government bureaucracy and the blatant corruption of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces makes her job extremely challenging and dangerous.Sami unhappy with his life in a refugee camp, worries about his sister who misses their mother and grandparents still trapped in the embattled city of Jaffna. Hoping to get some news about his family, he agrees to travel into the separatist stronghold on a secret mission for the government. The mission takes on a new urgency as he races to rescue a young woman he believed to be dead.

Set during the background of the recent civil war in Sri Lanka, this somewhat sad and ultimately realistic story traces the lives of two individuals from vastly different backgrounds. Nadesan is a trained mechanic working in the north-east of the country in his father's garage. Traumatized by the loss of his young family at the hands of the military and obsessed by the need to avenge their death, he has to find a way to hurt the people who took away everything he loved. Driven to the depths of despair he doesn't care if he has to die in the process. Amanthi works as a burns unit doctor in the capital Colombo, treating women driven by the cycle of domestic violence and cultural tradition to despair and self-immolation. She has to call on all her skills and experience treating burn victims when a car bomb explodes outside the crowded central bus terminal in the market suburb of Pettah killing and injuring hundreds of people. Even amid the most unimaginable horrors of war, each will find a clear purpose; one to maim and destroy and the other to save lives and rebuild.

A bitter, angry mechanic sits in an old Ford Escort parked in the central bus terminal during evening rush hour, knowing he's about to die in the next few minutes. Devastated by what's happened to his young family in his home town, Nadesan doesn't want anyone living in the capital city to ever feel safe again. A local traffic policeman angrily raps on the car window, gesturing at him to move the vehicle. What happens next finds him running for his life across the city pursued by a para-military hit-squad headed by a dangerous ex-soldier. Ordered to find and kill the men responsible for setting off car bombs across the country, Tilak's military training makes him very good at doing his job, yet he grapples with hate that he loves it so much. In the nearby general hospital, a compassionate and dedicated doctor struggles to deal with the pain and suffering caused by these terrible explosions. Could she be the one to bridge the gap between these two men ... but will it be enough for them to change their ways? Three very different people, their stories winding around each other like strands of barbed wire through the tragedy of a vicious civil war, by the choices they make in their life.

One of David's intelligence operatives' stumbles across a plot by a group of tea estate workers to establish an independent state in the middle of the country. David, on active duty in the north, must convince his superiors that the threat in the hill country is real but then something goes terribly wrong.Priyani in her role as an international relief coordinator must contend with David's continued absence and a terrible humanitarian crisis caused by the fighting. Having to deal with a bloated government bureaucracy and the blatant corruption of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces makes her job extremely challenging and dangerous.Sami unhappy with his life in a refugee camp, worries about his sister who misses their mother and grandparents still trapped in the embattled city of Jaffna. Hoping to get some news about his family, he agrees to travel to the separatist stronghold on a secret mission for the government. The mission takes on a new urgency as he races to rescue a young woman he believed to be dead.

One of David's intelligence operatives' stumbles across a plot by a group of tea estate workers to establish an independent state in the middle of the country. David, on active duty in the north, must convince his superiors that the threat in the hill country is real but then something goes terribly wrong.Priyani in her role as an international relief coordinator must contend with David's continued absence and a terrible humanitarian crisis caused by the fighting. Having to deal with a bloated government bureaucracy and the blatant corruption of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces makes her job extremely challenging and dangerous.Sami unhappy with his life in a refugee camp, worries about his sister who misses their mother and grandparents still trapped in the embattled city of Jaffna. Hoping to get some news about his family, he agrees to travel to the separatist stronghold on a secret mission for the government. The mission takes on a new urgency as he races to rescue a young woman he believed to be dead.

Life was difficult for Lovinia as the half-Sinhalese, half-Portuguese lead dancer in her father's dance troupe. But when she catches the eye of the newly arrived Governor of the Crown Colony of Ceylon, her fortunes change dramatically.The autocratic Governor, smitten by Lovinia's obvious charms but wary of the disapprovals of a narrow-minded British society, builds a stately country mansion on a promontory overlooking the sea close to the village of Galkissa, just a few miles south of Colombo, where she lives. An underground tunnel from the mansion's cellar allows Lovinia to visit him regularly to conduct their affair secretly. Life on the island is colourful and exotic, but an undercurrent of violence beneath the bright fa ade brings excitement and danger to her life. Lovinia is caught up in a treacherous mission and is torn between two very different lives. Will she follow her head or her heart?Set in 1805, during the early stages of British Colonial rule in Ceylon when the middle Kingdom of Kandy was at war with the British Empire, the true love story between the Governor, Major General Sir Thomas Maitland, and mestizo dancer Lovinia Aponsuwa has endured and enchanted people of all ages over the past two hundred years.

Set during the background of the recent civil war in Sri Lanka, this somewhat sad and ultimately realistic story traces the lives of two individuals from vastly different backgrounds.Nadesan is a trained mechanic working in the north-east of the country in his father's garage. Traumatized by the loss of his young family at the hands of the military and obsessed by the need to avenge their death, he has to find a way to hurt the people who took away everything he loved. Driven to the depths of despair he doesn't care if he has to die in the process. Amanthi works as a burns unit doctor in the capital Colombo, treating women driven by the cycle of domestic violence and cultural tradition to despair and self-immolation. She has to call on all her skills and experience treating burn victims when a car bomb explodes outside the crowded central bus terminal in the market suburb of Pettah killing and injuring hundreds of people.Even amid the most unimaginable horrors of war, each will find a clear purpose; one to maim and destroy and the other to save lives and rebuild.