Upamanyu Chatterjee je indický autor známý svými díly, která se odehrávají v prostředí Indické správní služby. Jeho psaní se často zaměřuje na ironické a satirické zobrazení byrokracie a každodenního života v Indii. Chatterjeeho styl je charakteristický svým hlubokým vhledem do lidské psychologie a schopností zachytit jemnosti společenských interakcí.
Agastya Sen, known to friends by the English name August, is a child of the Indian elite. August himself has just landed a prize government job, which takes him to Madna - a town with the highest temperatures in India - deep in the sticks. There he finds himself surrounded by incompetents and cranks, time wasters, bureaucrats, and crazies.
Jamun is a young man, adrift. His father, Shymanand, is old and his mother, Ursula, on her deathbed. As the novel opens, the family are gathering together for the inevitable parting. Tracking backwards and forwards in time and space, the book unfolds a picture of Jamun and his family.