Summary

Hema, now a professor at Wellesley, travels to Rome on a grant to continue her studies. From there she will head to visit her parents in Calcutta, where they have moved back to from Massachusetts. Then, she will return to the States to marry Navin, her arranged fiancée, who is a professor of physics at Michigan State. She has been to Rome before. In Rome, she stays at the apartment of her friend, Giovanna. In the past, she stayed with Julian, a professor with whom she carried on a ten year affair. Edo, a friend of Giovanna’s, calls Hema to see how she is getting along. His wife, Paola, is a photo editor at “L’Espresso,” and has worked with Kaushik, now a photojournalist. He has traveled extensively in South America, covering the violence in many...