India 1922. In Panikhat, 50 miles from Calcutta, the wives of officers in the Bengal Greys have been dying violently, one every year and each in March. All the deaths are bizarre and appear to be accidental. The only link between them is the bunch of small red roses that appear on the women's graves on the anniversary of their deaths. In order to help solve these mysterious deaths, the Governor of Bengal calls on the reluctant help of Joe Sandilands, Scotland Yard detective and war hero who happens to be on secondment to the Bengal police. Joe learns that the deaths are connected and that the series has not yet run its course. But who will be the recipient of the next Kashmiri rose? Is Joe hunting an Indian or European killer? And what is the reason behind the slaying of the officers' wives? With only days to go before the end of March can Joe uncover the murderer whose compulsions seem to be rooted deeply within the dark soul of India itself?