I was not aware that Ghost Fire is part of a larger series. It functions well as a standalone, but I just could not get into it. I tend to enjoy historical fiction and have read other books by Smith, but there was something about this story that rubbed me the wrong way. The story begins with Theo and Constance, two siblings growing up in India, and follows their journey during the French Indian War and across continents. The details transport the reader to the time period of India that Smith captures: his use of sensory details depicting food, cocktails, drinking, and social views really bring the setting to life. But that was the only part of the story that I found to be positive. The book seems to have been written for the male gaze -- there are many detailed sex scenes and acts of violence that just made me uncomfortable and, overall, decreased my enjoyment of the book.