Summary

The novel opens in 1921 with the first woman lawyer in Bombay, Perveen, nearly colliding with a traveler from Calcutta at the law office. Upon entering the Mistry House, built by her grandfather, Perveen greets the butler and works on legal paperwork. A letter, from an appointed estate trustee, wants her to make an estate change: the three widows of the late Omar Farid, a textile-mill owner, want to give up their assets as donations to a charitable trust that provides for the needy. Perveen is suspicious and decides to discuss this matter with her father, the lawyer who runs Mistry House. Instead of responding to the client, she went outside to confront the traveler from Calcutta who had been watching the Mistry House from across the street. When she mentioned the name Cyrus Sodawalla, the man ran off.

In the second chapter, Perveen...