Taneja’s masterful debut novel recasts King Lear as the story of the elite Devraj family and the far-reaching operations of their Delhi-based India Company. As the narrative opens, the aging patriarch has stepped down, his illegitimate son has returned from the U.S., and his youngest daughter, rejecting an arranged marriage, has disappeared. The two eldest daughters assume leadership of the Company, and as a bitter power struggle plays out, Taneja — a journalist who has covered human rights in Iraq, Jordan, Rwanda, and Kosovo — gives a panoramic look at contemporary India, from the destabilizing effects of climate change and the anti-corruption riots of 2011 to the clash of traditional and modern mores, especially regarding gender roles and class. Taneja will be in conversation with Madhulika Sikka, PBS public editor.