A spellbinding historical novel set in the eighteenth century: a heros quest, a love story, the story of a young artist coming of age, and an exuberant heist adventure that traces the bloody legacy of colonialism across two continents and fifty years.

This wildly inventive, irresistible feat of storytelling from a writer at the height of her powers is an expertly-plotted, deeply affecting novel about war, displacement, emigration, and an elusive mechanical tiger (Maggie OFarrell, best-selling author ofHamnetandThe Marriage Portrait).

Abbas is just seventeen years old when his gifts as a woodcarver come to the attention of Tipu Sultan, and he is drawn into service at the palace in order to build a giant tiger automaton for Tipus sons, a gift to commemorate their return from Bri