TWO FASCINATING WOMEN, ONE UNFORGETTABLE STORY Kerala, 1900. Wealth, beauty, and intellect - sixteen-year-old Padma has it all. Her husband worships her, her mother- in-law adores her, and everyone else looks up to her. Yet she continues to be deprived of the one thing her soul aches for: children. Desperate for an heir, her husband succumbs to familial pressures and agrees to a second marriage that turns her life upside down. Mumbai, present day. Naina loves her life the way it is -an exciting career in advertising, married to the love of her life, and they've just decided to start a family. Sounds perfect? Except, it isn't. Naina soon discovers she cannot give her husband what he wants. Determined, they put their hopes in IVF (in vitro fertilization). But this is only the beginning of the storm that will soon rip Nainas lite apart. Two wilful women, separated by the chasm of time, negotiate their feminine identities, struggle against patriarchal forces, face accusations of crime, and resurgence of old wounds -- all in pursuit of fulfilling their innermost desires. Powerful and unflinching, Padma offers an intimate portrait of womanhood in India that will captivate you from the very first page. About Author: Mala Mahesh is a partner and director at Transworld Group Singapore, her shipping and logistics business, based in Singapore and spread over Asia. Her other interests include event planning – both commercially as well as for charity. Mala has pursued her passion for writing for several years, writing for newsletters, as well as her company’s promotional materials. She published a book in the early 2000s, titled History of Painting for Young Readers, and contributed the column ‘Artbeat’ for Young World, the children’s supplement of the Hindu. Padma is her second book, and her first literary fiction. Mala lives in Singapore with her family and her Labrador, Magic. She enjoys walking, cycling, dancing, and golf – and is very particular about living a healthy and