Summary

Chapter 1

Pages 1-15: When Nikki’s traditional sister Mindi asks her for help with a personal ad for an arranged marriage, Nikki decides to put her writing skills to use to help her sister find an eligible Punjabi boy. Though she cannot begin to understand why Mindi would insist on partaking in what she feels is an outdated tradition, Nikki reasons that her edits to the ad will help to screen out the worst of the “idiots” (4). While posting Mindi's ad on the marriage board at the Southall gurdwara, Nikki spots a post on the adjacent community board, advertising for a teacher to lead a writing workshop for women. Nikki feels listless at the pub where she works, and has wanted to find work with true meaning ever since dropping out of law school. When her British friend Olive mentions that she...