'You can't stop days or rivers . . . '

Harriet is between two worlds. Her older sister is no longer a playmate, her brother is still a child. And the comforting rhythm of her Indian childhood - the noise from the jute works, the colourful festivals that accompany each season and the eternal ebb and flow of the river on its journey to the Bay of Benghal - is about to be shattered by a tragic event. The River is Rumer Godden's beautiful tribute to India and to childhood.