A dead developer. A forgotten agreement. Eleven mysterious stone figures. And a secret buried beneath Ajmer.
Before dawn, a body is discovered floating in Ana Sagar Lake. The victim is Sameer Malhotra, a powerful Delhi developer whose wrists have been bound with a red silk tie. His belongings are missing, and a hotel key has been deliberately concealed inside his shoe.
Inspector Vikram Rathore's investigation leads him to the mysterious Shekhawat Haveli, an old mansion overlooking the lake. Hidden within it is a stepwell containing eleven stone figures—and an empty twelfth niche.
As Rathore follows a trail of forged records, concealed payments, missing men and a mysterious stone slab, he uncovers a decades-old conspiracy involving disputed land, a forgotten water agreement and people determined to keep the truth hidden.
But the figures are not what they seem, the missing stone is not a treasure, and the old agreement conceals something far more valuable than anyone imagined.
In a city where history holds its secrets close, Rathore must separate fact from deception before the past claims another victim.
The stones were never the secret. They were the cover-up.
The Ajmer Secret is an atmospheric crime mystery of murder, greed, family loyalties and buried history, set against the evocative backdrop of Ajmer, Rajasthan.