Small, dark and intense, Simon grows up aware that there is something different about him, something that causes late-night quarrels and sometimes tears. With the rise of Hitler in Germany and the coming of war to Sweden's neighbours, the tensions increase. Befriending a young Jew, Isak, who is quickly taken under his mother's wing, enriches Simon's life, but makes it more difficult too - for Isak seems to fit in much better at home than Simon does himself. With the war's end comes the day that Simon, no longer a child, must be told the reason for his affinity for the lake and its surrounding oak trees; for the strange dreams of an old man beneath the waves; for his dark good looks and uncanny musical ability

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.