The Deceivers

In 1825, India is terrorized by the Thuggee cult. Captain William Savage, a district administrator for the East India Company, is alerted to the slaughter and begins an official inquiry. He vows to uncover the cult and bring its perpetrators to justice.

Savage captures a Thuggee named Hussein and wins his cooperation. He builds a case against the cult, but his report is dismissed by his commanding officer, Colonel Wilson. This setback hardens his resolve to expose the threat.

To infiltrate the Thuggee, Savage disguises himself as an imprisoned native outlaw named Gopal the Weaver. Hussein aids his infiltration, and only Savage’s wife Sarah knows the truth. He begins the grueling process of becoming part of the cult.

Savage is accepted into the Thuggee after a period of training. He participates in raids and starts to feel the cult's ecstatic lure of killing. The line between duty and murderous frenzy becomes blurred.

During a raid, Savage consumes the consecrated sugar, implied to be LSD, and awakens a dark, ecstatic fascination with killing. The experience marks a turning point in his psyche. He begins to question his own humanity.

A fellow Thuggee named Gopal reveals his own identity, threatening to expose Savage. To avoid ruin, Savage kills Gopal. The act cements his dual life as both hunter and hunted within the cult.

Savage discovers that senior British officers tolerate the Thuggees and let them operate in exchange for a share of their plunder. The sham of colonial integrity is laid bare. This realization fractures his trust in the colonial system.

Hussein attempts to flee to inform Sarah of Savage’s peril, but Thuggee moles inside the Company overhear him and capture him before he can warn his ally. The traitors tighten their net around Savage. The stakes have never been higher.

With his undercover identity exposed, Savage learns that the Thuggees still intend to use him. They order him to kill Hussein, but he refuses and instead seizes a hostage-child to facilitate an escape. Hussein is shot dead during the escape attempt.

Savage escapes into a field of reeds as the Thuggees close in. East India Company troops, alerted by Sarah’s manservant, arrive and rout the cult. The siege ends with the cult's defeat and Savage's survival.

Savage is rehabilitated and promoted to Colonel, given the official task of eradicating the Thuggee cult across India. The honor comes with the burden of his past actions within the cult era. He remains haunted by his experiences.

The narrative closes with Savage carrying mental and emotional scars from his undercover ordeal. Despite the trauma, his commitment to ending the Thuggee threat remains intact as he pursues the ongoing mission.