The novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest. But through a series of exhilarating tales Ram explains to his lawyer how episodes in his life gave him the answer to each question. About The Author: About the Author Vikas Swarup was born in Allahabad (India). He attended Allahabad University and studied History, Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating with distinction, he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986. In his diplomatic career, Vikas has been posted to various countries such as Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia and the United Kingdom. Since August 2006 he has been posted in Pretoria as Indiazs Deputy High Commissioner. Q&A is his first novel. Published by Doubleday/Random House (UK & Commonwealth), Harper Collins (Canada) and Scribner (US), it has sold translation rights in 40 languages. It was short listed for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writerzs Prize and won South Africazs Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2006 as well as the Paris Book Fair's Reader's Prize, the Prix Grand Public, in 2007. The audio book, read by Kerry Shale, won the award for Best Audio Book of the Year 2005. The film version of Q&A, titled 'Slumdog Millionaire' and directed by Danny Boyle, has won more than 70 awards including four Golden Globes, 8 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, and 11 BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominations. Vikas's second novel Six Suspects was published by Transworld in August 2008. It is being translated into several languages and has been optioned for a film by Starfield Productions and the BBC. Apart from reading, Vikas enjoys listening to music and playing cricket, tennis and table tennis. He is married and has 2 sons.