She returns to Sri Lanka in the midst of its merciless civil war as part of a human rights investigation by the United Nations.

Anil, along with archaeologist Sarath Diyasena, discovers the skeleton of a recently murdered man in an ancient burial ground which is also a government-protected zone.

Believing the murder to be politically motivated, Anil and Sarath set out to identify the skeleton, nicknamed Sailor, and bring about justice for the nameless victims of the war.

She begins to question his motives and sees his comments as a hint for her to censor herself since their discovery would implicate the Sri Lankan government in the death of Sailor.

She discovers that he is intricately involved in the country's affairs and daily struggles to save the lives of numerous victims.

Gamini helps them with a fellow Sri Lankan whose hands have been nailed to a road, and tells them about the various atrocities citizens face as a result of the civil war.

Angry and betrayed, on her way out Anil is frequently stopped and inspected, and her belongings and research seized, such that by the time she leaves the building she is left with nothing.

Sarath instructs Anil to prepare a fake report for the government and then leave the country the next morning on a plane that he arranged.

Anil's Ghost follows a unique structure in which the novel is divided into eight sections: "Sarath", "Grove of Ascetics", "A Brother", "Ananda", "The Mouse", "Between Heartbeats", "The Life Wheel", and "Distance".

The juxtaposition between the tranquil looking head and its decapitated state is also symbolic of the chaos and death that surrounds Sri Lanka.

"[3] Finally, Anil and Sarath are able, with Ananda's help, to bring a voice to the victim: "[T]his head was not just how someone possibly looked, it was a specific person.

During the turbulent period in Sri Lanka from the mid-1980s to early 1990s, the characters in Anil's Ghost face the everyday struggles of living in a warring nation.