Le poison de Goa : roman

In the sweltering twilight of Bombay, a lone European woman wanders the bustling streets of Mazagon, the city’s heat and dust turning the air into a golden haze. Rachel’s senses are assaulted by an endless procession of bazaars, silk traders, and restless crowds, each corner buzzing with voices in English, Hindustani, and countless other tongues. As she drifts past opulent hotels and cramped inns, a lingering sense of danger and longing shadows her steps, hinting at forces that will soon pull her deeper into the city’s tangled life.

Amid the chaos she encounters two enigmatic Englishmen—one wearing a striking pearl like a poisonous insect, the other cloaked in a dark clerical habit—whose flirtatious, almost predatory banter underscores the precarious position of a foreign woman in this exotic world. Rachel clings to a prayer from her father's Hebrew book, seeking justice against the prejudice she feels, while the looming silhouette of the Monbadevi temple marks a forbidden alley she vows never to cross. The first act sets a vivid portrait of a city teeming with color, tension, and the promise of hidden intrigue.