Vikram Seth's novel is, at it's core, a love story - the story of a young girl's search for the man she will marry. We meet Lata and her family; her gentle sister Savita, just married herself to the suitable if dark-skinned Pran; her widowed mother Mrs Rupa Mehra, fussy, loving, in a permanent state of grief and feverish activity; as well as a whole array of inlaws and outlaws, the aristocratic Khans, the urbane Chatterjis, and the provincial Kapoors.
Three suitors present themselves. Only one of the can win Lata's hand - by love or by maternal persuasion.