Two characters narrate the story. Charu, a naive young Indian teacher, shamed her whole life by a facial birthmark, experiences more of a coming-of-age than any of her students. Escaping the confines of her sheltered upbringing, she eschews the company of other prim teachers, aligning herself with controversial rebel teacher Moira Prince. Entering into a nighttime world of sex and drugs, Charu awakens to enticing internal passions while trying to maintain her good-girl exterior by day.
When Moira is found dead, a myriad of unanswered questions surface along with buried scandals that the surrounding community would rather keep hidden. This is where the second narrator, the teenage Nandita, takes over. The endearing Nandita is clever and courageous; she and her small posse of student sleuths attempt to solve the mystery of Moira's death--with some heartbreaking results.
While the whodunit element is intriguing, it nearly takes a back seat to the rare glimpse Currimbhoy affords into the world of a boarding school that clings stubbornly to British mores in the midst of an irresistible tapestry of Indian culture. --Natalie Papailiou, blogger at MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend