Mr. Ali is retired and bored. His wife is frustrated with his continual presence disrupting her long-standing routine. So Mr. Ali sets up a small business as a marriage arranger to keep himself busy. He's soon busy and his wife finds him an assistant to help him. The story line is pleasant to read, but not slight. While the emphasis is on the light-hearted joys and tribulations of finding the right matches for his clients, Farahad Zama doesn't shy away from the more difficult aspects of Indian society. Mr. Ali's son is involved in protests around a planned industrial park and his assistant, Aruna, as well as his maid, have problems produced by poverty. Mr. Ali is a stubborn man, more so when he knows he is in the wrong.

The best thing about this book is the effortless way that it gives the reader a peak at daily life and marriage customs in India. Zama is Indian, but has lived for sixteen years in Britain. He understands what benefits from a brief description and writes well enough that those explanations flow naturally within the story. He writes vividly of the what, adding bits of why as needed. From a trip to shop for a new sari, to attending both a muslim and a hindi wedding, the reader is given a valuable and entertaining glimpse into another culture.