Anil is a young Indian who begins studying medicine in Gujarat and then leaves to do his internship in the United States. His formidable mother dreams of a prestigious union for him. However, since he was little, she knows that he is very close to Leena, the daughter of a poor sharecropper. When she becomes a very beautiful young girl, she must be kept away, by marrying her off as quickly as possible.

The intertwined destinies of Anil and Leena form the plot of this novel - he in America, which is far from being the paradise he dreamed of; and she in India, where her life will be that of millions of women victims of arranged marriages. They will meet again one day, each ready to take their lives in hand. But will they be entitled to happiness?