New Delhi's liquid colonialism is on its way out. The old social order is crumbling. Those born into English-speaking privilege - Uma, the England-returned graduate; Madhavi, the academic, and journalist Dhruv; Shantanu, the civil servant, and his wife Anasuya; Deekay, the middle-class revolutionary; Pamela Sen, the dedicated teacher; Ikram Gilchrist, the famous author - are slowly but surely yielding ground to the subaltern. In the roil and rustle of this change, a mysterious gang of thieves is stealing old and rare books from the houses of the well-heeled. Who are these people? Where are they taking these books? And who is the mysterious Jai Prakash? What is his secret? The Gin Drinkers is a tragicomedy of manners and a true mirror to the class and caste conflicts that define modern India.