Lev is a man who has come down in the world. Once a biological scientist, he is now a chauffeur in 'that new Russia where physicists wash windows and engineers drive trams'. So he decides to take his somewhat lethal knowledge abroad; to offer his services to a foreign government. But on the way from the airport his taxi is stopped, and he is robbed. It is in this helpless state, alone and adrift in Delhi, that Lev meets Maya. Beautiful, ferocious and utterly original, Maya has been waiting for a man like Lev to walk into her life. Briefly they come together, and Lev steps into the marvellous world that is Maya. But then something terrible happens - something for which the Russian scientist is blamed.The Brainfever Bird is an exquisite love story, a tale of international intrigue and biological weapons, a literary thriller of incredibly beauty, bursting with life, dreams and wonder.