This book is based on the life story of Ustad Mansur, the master painter and artist in Emperor Jahangir's court during the Mughal Empire. He was one of the finer artists to paint animals and birds after closely observing them, and he even painted a few from his imagination. His portrait of the dodo is so famous that it's said that their eyes were painted with a precision that no one else ever managed to recreate. He is also said to have signed his paintings even during the seventeenth century, which reflect his confidence, position and power in the court.