In 1940s India, a fabulously rare gemstone called the Earth Star draws a desperate Rajah, a masked thief called the Merlin, and a grieving father into a deadly game of greed and betrayal. When Seth Martell's sons become entangled in the gem's theft, he must navigate a labyrinth of deception that reaches from the heights of luxury to the depths of an underground kingdom called Alu. The Earth Star holds power beyond wealth, something ancient and terrible that could reshape the balance of global forces. As family loyalty fractures and hidden identities surface, Martell faces an impossible choice: trust the son who may have betrayed him, or pursue the gem into a subterranean world where nothing is as it seems. Kuttner weaves adventure, hardboiled intrigue, and science fiction into a propulsive tale about what we sacrifice for the people we love and the secrets we keep.
