The novel is a tragedy of alienation, centred on the racism experienced by an elderly Brahmin, Srinivas, who has lived in London for decades.

[3] The novel's main protagonist, Srinivas, is an elderly spice importer who has lived in South London for almost fifty years, surviving his wife and one of his two sons.

In the Britain of 1968, he now faces intensifying racism, reminding him of the slights he had once experienced as a university student in colonial India.

For a while, Srinivas's self-belief is restored by a romantic relationship with Mrs Pickering, a down-at-heel divorcée, who moves into his house.

[4] However, it was included in the Penguin India reprints of Markandaya's work,[3] and in 2019 a new edition was published by Hope Road to launch their new imprint, Small Axes.