The situation that develops between two households is one that anyone with long-lived parents can expect to face. As the lights begin to dim upon the stage of a parent’s life, the surviving progeny must determine which one of them will be responsible for bringing down the curtain. In the novel, we follow events on both sides of the tightrope that Nariman’s life has become, as he succumbs slowly to Parkinson’s disease. On the one hand, he has Jal and Coomy, whose selfishness is a symptom of their own physical and emotional frailties. On the other hand, there is Roxana, whose home and resources are far too limited to accommodate her beloved father.