Did the pioneers of in vitro fertilisation imagine that one day poor women in India would be earning their country US$1 billion a year as surrogate mothers for rich Westerners? At the forefront of this booming industry is Dr Nayna Patel, the subject of House of Surrogates (1 October). Dr Patel, a vision in crimson lip-gloss and fat pearls, achieved fame when she enabled a woman to give birth to her own daughter’s children. Thereafter, she saw the commercial possibilities of surrogacy, and now offers the complete service from a base in Anand, Gujarat.There she operates a clinic where egg and sperm are united and successful embryos implanted in pristine conditions. Nearby is the “surrogate house”, where the expectant mothers, 10 to a room, enjoy their confinement. They do