A building collapses in Mumbai. In the debris is a man who is mumbling something in delirium. It appears that he is passing on the real-time movements of a young Muslim couple. Elsewhere, a young intelligence agent is assigned to shadow two terror suspects, one of whom is a teenager and the sweetheart of her street, Laila.

Taking up a slice of recent history, Miss Laila, Armed and Dangerous glares at the entire system – not just politicians, the bureaucracy, the police and lackeys, but also the good folks. Pervasive in its satire, wicked in its humour and broad-based in its canvas, this is one of the most stylish and honest works of fiction about India ever written.

About the Author: Manu Joseph

Manu Joseph is the author of the widely acclaimed and bestselling novels, Serious Men and The Illicit Happiness of Other People, which have been translated into many languages, and have been nominated for several prizes. Among other honours, he is the winner of The Hindu Literature Prize and The American Pen Open Book Award, whose jury described him as ‘…that rare bird who can wildly entertain the reader as forcefully as he moves them’. Illicit… was among the top five national bestsellers in Holland for several weeks, bettered only by the ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy. Among India’s most popular commentators, he is a former columnist for The International New York Times, and now writes on politics and society for Mint Lounge. During his stint as editor of Open, the newsweekly, he broke the ‘Radia Tapes’ story, which revealed the telephone conversations between a corporate lobbyist and some of India’s most influential public figures.