Grief, violence and history collide to offer a radical look at childhood and migration in suburban New England. Siddharth Arora lives an ordinary life in the New England suburb of South Haven, but his childhood comes to a grinding halt when his mother dies in a car accident. Siddharth soon gravitates towards a group of adolescent bullies, drinking and smoking instead of drawing and swimming. He also takes great pains to care for his depressive father. Sawhney blurs line between victim and victimizer and asking readers to contend with the lies we tell ourselves.