Cast

Most of the action takes place in and around Kolin, the capital of Kushtia. High on the fringes of the Hindu Kush, the small country of Kushtia is moving out of the shadow of its colonial past as part of the Soviet empire. Although trying to become a modern, secular state, Kushtia is still troubled by its immediate and distant past. Its distinctive way of life has been recognised under the Untied Nations World Heritage Cultures programme. (Described in "Anthropology")

Characters

Most of the folk in this tale introduce themselves as they go along but some of them were first encountered in earlier Freddie Clegg stories (Mainly in Market Forces although some or all make appearances in Anthropology):-

· The Kalinin : President elect of the state of Kushtia.

· Lauren — daughter of Brad, the Kushtian Trade Minister, wife of Kushnati Koresh (a council elder and a very elder council elder at that).

· Victoria — wife (well, one of them) of Koreni Kalanis, (son of the Kalinin of Kushtia).

· Freddie Clegg — an entrepreneur with a serial interest in female flesh.

· Ellie Grant — Freddie's right hand woman, lawyer for the Clegg Enterprises business

· Anatoly Kustensky — a Russian with similar aims to Freddie but in different markets

· Sergeant Dobranin — a helpful officer of the Kolin traffic police.

Language

A few words of Kushtian that you might find helpful (although I'll try to keep the meanings obvious when they turn up). Some others will be used but please don't be put off, I'll try to keep things understandable:-

· doenya : a household servant

· seragla : the harem of a Kushtian household

· huna : bitch

· chanoosh : the all covering robe of an unmarried Kushtian woman

· hunashif : an aromatic herb smoked for its intoxicating effects

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