The End of Innocence (Broché)

Pakistan 1971. Laila is a naïve, privileged nine-year old, at her family estate for the winter holidays. Her world is peopled by adults - progressive parents, a protective ayah and an imperious, old-fashioned grandmother. Adored and indulged, Laila still feels excluded from this enigmatic world. Much like the young heroes of her favourite Enid Blyton adventures, she wants a slice of the action, and with a best friend by her side. This friend is Rani - the spirited teenage granddaughter of a family servant. Rani, however, is hurtling into a forbidden love affair, and when she becomes pregnant, she has no one to turn to but Laila. Eager but artless, Laila flounders in a world she does not understand and unleashes a catastrophe.