sepoy rebellion, 1857-1858

"In 1857 India, 12-year-old Meera escapes a life she has no say in--and certain death on her husband's funeral pyre--only to end up a servant to a British general in the East India Company. When a rebellion against British colonizers spreads, she must choose between relative safety in a British household or standing up for herself and her people"--Provided by publisher.

The sepoys, native soldiers serving in the British army, are massing in response to a prophecy predicting the end of the reign of the British East India Company. Alexander Sheridan-in command of a scratch cavalry force of civilian volunteers, unemployed officers and loyal Indian soldiers stands against atrocities on both sides of the conflict, judging all by their merit rather than by the color of their skin or the details of their religion.

Explores the history of India during the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar II, the last Mughal emperor, focusing on the 1857 rebellion sanctioned by Zafar, in which Indian troops within the East India Company stage a mutiny which led to the deaths of thousands, the destruction of Delhi, and Zafar's exile in Burma.

An account of the establishment of the English East India Company, the growth of British power in India, and the "Mutiny" of 1857 in which the Indian soldiers in the Bengal Army revolted against their British officers.