The travel bug bit author Peter O'Neil at a young age, propelling him out of his comfort zone and into a life of teaching and globetrotting. When the middle-school math teacher accepts a job at an international school in New Delhi, he embraces the opportunity to immerse himself in life in one of India's largest cities.

But a chance encounter with five cousins from the Kassana family at a lesser-known tourist site in Delhi offers O'Neil the opportunity to step away from the comforts of expatriate living and experience life in rural India.

In their early twenties, the five men...