Lea, isn't what one would call a typical 20 year old girl living in the 21st Century. For one, she's still a virgin. Coming from an exotic mix of parentage: Her father is Macedonian and her mother is Persian, her cloistered life takes a cataclysmic turn when her parents die in a tragic accident.
At the London University Fresher's Ball, she meets a prince. Raj Khan hails from a small Himalayan kingdom called Malana, located in The Valley of the Gods. Predictably, Lea is swept off her feet by this charming monarch and he becomes her first lover. Just as she begins to discover herself and her sexuality, Raj is summoned back to his kingdom. He leaves without promising to return and Lea finds herself floundering in her search for identity.
After her return from a fruitless visit to her grandmother in Macedonia, she receives a letter from Raj, inviting her to come to Malana. In a surprising double prong plot, she discovers that he has also approached her employers, St. Mary's Hospital, with an offer of £100,000 for the hospital for her release to do research in Malana on miscarriages in a remote tribe.
Self deception is a powerful tool and Lea accepts Raj's invitation without hesitation, naively thinking that love will conquer all. Her first months in Valley of the Gods are wonderful beyond her dreams. She learns about the history of Malana and Part 1 of the book explains how she sees herself fit in with Raj because of their common ancestry.
Part 2 gives the historical basis for the existence of Malana. A graphic description of the Battle of Hydaspes follows. It was one of the most extreme confrontations faced by the brave soldiers of Alexander the Great. Overcoming their fear of facing 200 elephants from the Indian King Porus, and winning the battle, the old and weary soldiers finally decide to approach Alexander for a release of their duties. In a generous mood, Alexander grants them their request. The story tells of Coenus, one of Alexander's Companions, who leads the group of down and outs away from their king. Through hardship and more loss of lives, they finally settle in a place which has become the present day Malana. In order to maintain their culture and traditions from Macedonia, the ancestors of Malana decide that they are the highest caste in the world and they establish that henceforth, they will keep their bloodline pure, marrying within their own race.
Lea starts seeing the cracks in the Malanaans' idea of perfection and purity in Part 3. Generations of interbreeding have brought on genetic disorders. She uncovers Raj's scheme of using her to pro-create a perfect baby and to her dismay, she finds out that he is betrothed to Kamala, a 14 year old Malanaan girl. As her dreams crumble, Lea finds herself in the unenviable position of being an unwed mother. While trying to leave, she realizes too late that Raj has control over every avenue of escape. She is trapped.
Lea gives birth to her son on the night of Raj's coronation and his marriage to Kamala. As the seasons change, the scales over Lea's eyes fall as she sees the Valley of the Gods for what it is - a nest of vipers, drugs and deception among power-hungry officials in the Malanaan Council. The turning point comes when the high priest of Malana declares that Lord Jamlu, the violent God ruling Malana has demanded Lea's offspring to be sacrificed. Both Raj and Lea fight to save the baby in their own ways. The one who saves the child turns out to be a disgruntled German drug-dealer who has a soft heart.
The last part of the book gives a pictorial overview of Lea's escape from the Valley of the Gods. Karl, the German drug-dealer, leads her into the wilderness of Zanskar, on the Indo-Tibetan border. Their relationship triggers in Lea a personal acknowledge of her inner strength - both as a mother and as a woman. Their journey takes them into the harsh beauty of the petrified landscape where they encounter a marauding bear, playful marmots, a Buddhist sanctuary and each other. The dangers of the Himalayas are once again displayed in reality when an avalanche sweeps Karl into a crevasse.
While Raj fights for control over his kingdom in Malana, Lea manages to escape by the skin of her teeth, helped along by Karl's contacts in the Buddhist religious order. Her final rush to freedom is accomplished despite a tenacious servant of Raj dogging her and a lecherous Delhiite who can't keep his hands to himself.
The epilogue ends with an idyllic stroll along the Regent's Canal tow-path, where Lea takes her newly named baby, Xerxes (meaning Prince of Freedom in Persia), on their regular Sunday walk. The shock she encounters when Raj appears with his cronies to snatch the baby, is exceeded only by the greater shock of seeing Karl alive. The ending is symbolic as a dried leaf falls from a tree onto water, creating concentric circles, so it is with Karl in Lea's life.
