In the summer of 2009, the leader of the dreaded Tamil Tiger guerrillas was killed, bringing to an end the civil war in Sri Lanka. What happens to the texture of life in a country that endures such bitter conflict? What happens to the country's soul? Through travels and conversations, Samanth Subramanian examines how people reconcile themselves to violence, how the powerful become cruel, and how victory can be put to the task of reshaping memory and burying histories.