The Fuchsia Sari (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780645773125)

1896, Bombay. As a prequel to A Patient Obsession, The Fuchsia Sari tells the backstory to Patience's family heritage.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Mangal (Frank) grows up an orphan in a Bombay wadi. His mathematical prowess enables him to gain a scholarship to study at Manchester University, England where he encounters prejudice, friendship and eventually love.

Maree, a Lancashire lass, working as a milliner's apprentice, one of five daughters, wishes to be a princess. After a chance meeting with Frank and their ensuing relationship she follows him and sets sail to India on her own, away from everything she knew. Once there, they try to make a life for themselves but as a mixed-race couple they are accepted by neither Indian society nor the colonial British.

Death, heartbreak and the inability to feel completely at home on either continent follow the couple.

Can they overcome racism, overt or hidden, and lead happy fulfilled lives?