she is quickly swept off her feet and leaves with him for India. It is at this juncture that the story truly begins. She recognizes the alien she is among this culture and even within her new house, seeing as she shares a husband with another woman, Mona. Rose's strong convictions, quick wit, and matter-of-fact nature propel her into uncomfortable and threatening situations. She feels lost in this world of constant change, and struggles to understand this culture and herself. Sonali – the other protagonist of the novel is a young, female Indian civil servant who is struggling to find truth and logic in her ever-changing homeland, India. As part of the elite caste in New Delhi, she grows up without worries but filled with naivete. In her years at Oxford, where she reconnects with Ravi Kachru, a childhood friend, it is with him that her political knowledge blossoms. Ravi's ardour for communism deepens, yet Sonali, despite Ravi's efforts, questions its plausibility. Sonali mentions, "I did admire and envy his commitment, it was so cloudless. But I couldn't understand why we had to keep cutting and pasting Western concepts together and tying ourselves to them forever as if Europe were the centre of the universe, and the Bible and Marx were the last word on mankind." (101) This relationship falls apart with their return to India. Ravi involves himself quickly with the ruling party and Sonali becomes a civil servant. Sonali, too, feels lost in this new India, most especially during the Emergency, when the autocratic rule once so staunchly despised by Ravi comes to power with his support. Ram – Rose's husband, who is already married to Mona when they wed. His fanciful taste for beautiful finery and European goods cause trouble with the inventory of his shop until Rose is able to convince him to look around for more native materials. He loves Rose, but he also loved Mona, and he also falls head-over-heels in love with a woman named Marcella during his marriage to Rose. Theirs is an intellectual connection Rose feels powerless to compete with. Much later in their lives, Ram falls critically ill, and he is comatose in the context of the story's present action. Dev – Ram's spoiled son. He is a worrisome boy who grows into a man who has broken no ties to his petulant childhood. He continues to pull "teenage pranks"