The Santarom is a semi-autobiographical epic novel with millions of devoted readers worldwide. It has been hailed by international critics as a literary masterpiece of immeasurable beauty.
The narrator is a fugitive. After separating from his wife and losing custody of his daughter, his life transforms into a dark abyss. From a philosopher and political activist at the University of Melbourne, he becomes a revolutionary who loses his ideals to heroin, a philosopher who loses his integrity to crime, a poet who loses his soul in a maximum-security prison; one of the most wanted men in Australia.
He is sentenced to twenty years in prison for armed robbery, but manages to escape from the Pentridge prison. And when he, as a fugitive, seeks refuge in Bombay, his incredible journey towards something undefined begins; perhaps towards what some call the meaning of life.
He becomes entangled with the people of the city, forming life bonds with some of them, falling in love, betraying and being betrayed, choosing to live in a slum experiencing absolute poverty, climbing the ranks of the Bombay mafia, being imprisoned and brutally tortured, participating in Bollywood films, fighting in Afghanistan experiencing the horror and absurdity of war, but above all, he challenges his limits by diving into the depths of human existence.