Sea of Poppies - Ibis Trilogy, Bk 1 Author:Amitav Ghosh At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis . Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean; its purpose, to fight China’s vicious nineteenth-century Opium Wars. As for the crew, they are a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts. — \In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a d... more »iverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a freespirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais , or ship-brothers. An unlikely dynasty is born, which will span continents, races, and generations.« less