In this masterful novel by the acclaimed Indian writer Vivek Shanbhag, a close-knit family is delivered from near-destitution to sudden wealth after a miraculous change in fortune. As the narrator, along with his sister, his parents, and his uncle move from a cramped shack to a larger house and encounter new-found wealth, the family dynamics begin to shift.     

As the dream of middle-class, aspirational living comes true, allegiances and desires realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background.