Leo Kazan is an orphan (or so he believes) and a talented linguist. He is also a thief, attracted like a magpie to anything that glitters. Leo becomes the protege of a high-ranking member of the British Raj who turns him into a spy. From an early age. Leo is involved in international espionage and diamond smuggling which takes him from India to Britain and Russia. But the most meaningful time in his life is when he meets an innocent English girl, Davina Dymond, in London.

As the drums of war reverberate around the world for a second time, Leo begins to understand his personal history and realises the importance of his Indian background, and the true meaning of Home Rule. Davina, trapped in war-torn Spain, turns to crime to survive. Both must unshackle themselves from those who seek to manipulate them before they can find true happiness - and each other.