The Traitor's Bargain

Betrayal reshaped a kingdom – and gave birth to an empire.

“An enthralling story of nationalism filled with historical touches and lush details.” — Kirkus Reviews

Selected for publication in the January 2026 issue of Kirkus Reviews Magazine, a distinction reserved for a small percentage of reviewed titles each year.

A full review has also been commissioned by Muse India, one of India’s longest-running and most respected literary journals.

In the summer of 1757, Bengal – jewel of the East – stands on a precipice. The East India Company, once mere merchants, now manoeuvre to unseat a dynasty. The fiery young Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah is hemmed in by betrayal. Around him, a banker pulls the strings behind the throne. A nobleman, torn between loyalty and survival, makes a fateful choice. A Company soldier begins to doubt the masters he serves. And the son of an aristocrat finds himself at the head of a peasant revolt.

Their paths converge in a time of shifting power and rising rebellion, as the fury of a devastated land meets the appetite of foreign merchants. Every decision becomes a wager—and every betrayal, a reckoning.

A vivid portrait of ambition, audacity, betrayal and resistance, based on real events and grounded in meticulous research, The Traitor’s Bargain brings to life one of the most consequential turning points in Indian history.

Recognised as one of the most trusted and authoritative voices in global literary criticism, Kirkus praised the novel’s lyrical prose, immersive realism, and emotional power—calling it both sweeping in scope and intimate in human truth.

 Read the full Kirkus review at https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rajat-roy/the-traitors-bargain/