India, Sept. 27 -- In a posh Delhi colony, Shamsher Singh looks on as a man carries a corpse around, looking to give his friend a decent burial. His is a privileged life, and yet the Covid-19 pandemic has ripped open the anxieties of his past. In locked-down Beijing, Mei must come to terms with her stepfather's demands. In Bangkok, Changez Khan finds an unexpected kindness, but he has his own ghosts to suffer. As death steps ever closer, lies are exposed. But there is always hope. Set across Asia at the peak of the brutal Delta wave, The Pretenders is a novel about finding love and human connection even in the bleakest of times....