Book excerpt: Five-year-old Meera is sweetly heartbroken when the focus of her innocent crush, nineteen-year-old Ari, moves overseas. But Ari soon becomes a faint memory as Meera immerses herself in a world of family, friends and the business of growing up which, sadly, includes trauma that no child should ever have to bear. Treading betrayals and loyalties, discovering secrets and creating some of her own, Meera develops into a young woman. She marries and moves to New York with her adoring husband, Neel. But Meera and Ari's paths cross once again after two decades apart. This time their friendship holds a forbidden lust. Meera's marriage goes through a trial by fire that leads her to a therapist's couch, and to uncover long buried truths. Meanwhile, her family in India must deal with crises and needs her more than ever. Meera is tested as a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend, a wife. How much will these bonds endure? Coloured by heartache, remorse, love and redemption, and spanning Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai and New York, Meera is a story that will touch readers in unexpected ways.