A novel of human passions and conflicts of traditional and modern human values.A self-made contractor and indulgent father, Lanai has everything that money can buy. Like his womenfolk, he senses that much of his security comes from adherence to traditional Indian values, and has no time for the Western fads and fashions that are the new status symbols of New Delhi's super-rich. But his children are growing up with different aspirations, especially Viddi, desperate to be a writer or art critic and avoid the family business, and Nimmi, pretty, delicate, graceful Nimmi, longing to be modern and independent, free to love and marry the man of her choice.Jhabvala, a world class master story teller, traces the intricacies and compromises of life in New Delhi with a delicious blend of light wit and tender gravity, showing herself to be a master of social comedy and a brilliant exponent of the Indian character.