In 14th-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl named Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess, gaining divine powers and immortality. She magically breathes life into a majestic empire called Bisnaga—the "Victory City"—seeding its soil with magic and whispering fictional histories into the minds of its citizens to grant them memory. Over the course of two centuries, Pampa witnesses the rise, golden age, and ultimate decay of the civilization she founded. Salman Rushdie delivers a sweeping epic about love, political intrigue, female agency, and the enduring power of storytelling.