The story is narrated through the eyes of Lucy, the youngest daughter. The plot oscillates between her childhood and the present day; the classic device of outlining one’s story to an outsider forms the somewhat flimsy fulcrum through which the past unfolds. A tapestry of richly imagined characters occupies the spaces within Lucy’s memory, and the decaying inherited mansion where the family sits banished from the larger community becomes the romantic backdrop to many of Lucy’s mishaps, adventures, and awakenings.

Feeling like a foreigner in her own hometown in northern India, Lucy’s alienation is contrasted against a country trying to renegotiate its identity in the aftermath of an oppressive age. Notwithstanding the powerful themes at play, however, the story meanders over the course of almost two decades and lacks dramatic tension. That aside, the setting is a particular strength of this novel, with the climatic vicissitudes and vivid hues of Kanpur providing the perfect backdrop through which to chronicle the collapse of a family dynasty.