Nikki Grewal, the protagonist of the story, is a British woman of Indian Sikh descent. As the novel opens, Nikki is struggling with The Challenges of a Hybrid Identity. Though she takes pride in being, as she views it, modern and liberated, she also senses a lack of cohesiveness and meaning in her life. She has recently quit her law studies and is working in a pub, but that job is not, as she explains, her “calling” (6). That would be “a job where she could make a difference, stimulate her mind, be challenged, valued and rewarded” (6). While still young at 22, Nikki’s behavior and attitude is often immature, closer to that of a rebellious teenager than a young adult. She seems much younger, for example, than her sister Mindi, who at 25 has already decided on a career in nursing and is in search of a “suitable boy” with whom to settle down. Nikki is somewhat estranged from her family, and she fears that her argument with her father over quitting law school contributed to the heart attack that killed him. While she has done activism work for feminist causes, she is unable to find even a volunteer position in women’s organizations.