This is an account of life in the vast and ever-expanding cities of South Asia. From Bangkok, Bombay, Dhaka, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur, Jeremy Seabrook brings stories of survival and uncelebrated heroism, stories with uncanny echoes of life in Britain in the early-industrial era. At the same time, he provides an analysis of the restructuring of urban life in South Asia, as the world moves towards a single integrated economy.