Paul Scott's epic four novels, known collectively as "The Raj Quartet", tell the extraordinary story of Daphne and Hari, of Ronald Merrick and Barbie Batchelor, the Layton family and Guy Perron, against the tumultuous background of the last years of British rule in India. It begins in 1942. The Japanese, having conquered Burma, are threatening to invade and Gandhi is calling on the British to 'Quit India'. In Mayapore, a young man, Hari Kumar, is arrested and, across the river that divides the city, Daphne Manners has arrived from England. It is the start of a chain of events binding English and Indians in a web of love, tragedy, and death. And at the center is Ronald Merrick, District Superintendent of Police, a guardian of the British Empire of which India is 'The Jewel in the Crown'.