Paro is an ordinary woman with an extraordinary tale to tell. At the request of Manoo, a friend of hers who often visits, she spends an afternoon meeting with him relating her life story, so that Manoo might better understand her and the events that have made her think the way she does. Paro's gripping memories of her arranged marriage and life with her children and grandchildren provide the reader with great insight into twentieth-century life on Mauritius for a Hindu woman. Prem Kutowaroo's uncluttered and eloquent prose perfectly matches Paro's moving, deeply human story.