The peace of a century-old monastery in the Himalayas is shattered by the gruesome murder of a young Tuolku, a high reincarnated lama of the Kagyu lineage. This, though, isn't the first killing to profane its sanctity. The senior abbot, Lama Tashi, seeks the help of his young protege, Karma Wangden, in nabbing the killer. Wangden's investigation unravels something deeply sinister - a ruthless organization bent on destroying the very foundations of Tibetan Buddhism. In a plot that sees its action swivel from the hallowed precincts of the monastery to the semantics of The Bardo Thodol, the greatest magnum opus of Guru Padmasambhava, Pema Wangchuk's debut novel-the first of his Vajra Trilogy - is a unique offering from the mountain state of Sikkim. Like a richly painted Thanka, the novel is a tapestry of intrigue and action underpinned by a deep philosophical rumination: what happens to us when we die? Where does death lead us?