Iqbal Singh is an atheist who was raised Sikh; he was educated in England and had returned to India in order to work as a social worker for the People's Party of India. While he was an organizer, he understood that he had no charisma and little authority, as he had not suffered for his cause. And while he saw himself as a potentially great social reformer and man of the people, he actually seemed to expect special treatment due to his well-educated status. The book is filled with his political lectures to the townspeople who seem wholly indifferent to his ideas but eager to respect his degree of education.