First published in Bengali in 1962, the novel became a bestseller and was translated into a number of Indian languages and made into a film and a play.

Once, as he takes rest in a neighborhood park, reminiscing about his past and fearful of what awaits him in future, Byron,a friend of his passes by and is shocked by Shankar's descent into poverty.

The story of the novel spins around the guests, entertainers, and frequent visitors of the Shahjahan, but several members of the hotel staff get equal importance in Shankar's narrative.

We learn about the seamy underside of the elite of Calcutta, whose greed, shady deals, and shameful behaviors are initially shocking to our naïve young man, who soon becomes jaded and disgusted by them.

The poverty of working and jobless Calcuttans is vividly portrayed, as those not in the upper echelon are only one stroke of bad luck away from living in the streets or in dilapidated hovels.