Best Intentions

Gayatri Mehra is tired of her parents trying to find her a suitable husband. She would much rather focus on the history journal she edits and leave the happily-ever-after to Nandini and Amar, her newly married sister and brother-in-law. But when the journal faces pressure to fall in line from the right-wing SSP headed by a corrupt godman, Gayatri is forced to seek help from Akshay Grewal, Amar''s brother and elder son of lawyer-turned-politician Gyan Singh Grewal. Gayatri finds Akshay arrogant and unprincipled; he thinks she is naive and self-righteous. Enter Vikram Gera, a self-made banker willing to go to any lengths to break into Delhi''s elite circles, even if it means stringing Gayatri along. As Gayatri and Akshay come together to salvage the situation at the journal, they realize that their siblings marriage is coming undone. Politics, ambition and hard truths collide, and familial bonds are tested. But as they navigate this complex world, Akshay and Gayatri learn that while some things can t be fixed, love often finds a way. BEST INTENTIONS is a sharply observed and compulsively readable novel of manners marking the arrival of an accomplished new voice. This sharp, acute and accomplished debut novel . . . carries deep insights into human relationships and the social schisms and fault lines that surround us. NAMITA GOKHALE"