This is an intimate, inside look at the state of the Indian Administrative Service, with nothing held back. It lays bare the activities of the modern mandarins behind bolted portals, describing how they crawl up the greasepole of success, manipulating in-laws and outlaws with equal felicity. The way they bootlick superiros is only matched by the fervour of their pontification at juniors. The tussles at the top get really gory, as the commitment is to individuals rather than principles. Himself a senior IAS officer, the author tears off the mask and exposes the authentic face of his own clan.