This is a story of one family, but it could just as well be the story of any family. A story with beginnings in different countries, in separate times, narrated by three generations. It moves through three significant historical events, the despair of the 1930s in Germany; the 1940s civil unrest in Ceylon; and the stifling fear of the 1970s in India. It is a story of the demands of class and caste, education and politics, wealth, and status in the lives of all people. It is symbolic of the pain and grief that all humans endure; the disruption they experience when their best laid plans go awry. But crucially, the innate goodness that lies entrenched in the human heart, causing it to rise above petty prejudices.