After more than thirty years in London, recently-widowed Thomas Imbalil returns to India. He spends his first months in uncluttered isolation in his house overlooking the Arabian Sea, in a small fishing village in Kerala. But when he agrees to look after his friend's business, Chacko's Optical Store, he meets and befriends Rani, the young assistant who reveals herself as a much more complex individual than he had first imagined, and while he had envisaged a quiet re-acquaintance with his homeland, Thomas finds himself becoming more and more entangled with the lives of those around him. 'A bittersweet, uplifting tone makes it impossible to put down ... Kalayil writes beautifully, painting colourful portraits of her characters and managing her story's unexpected twists with aplomb' - Scotland on Sunday