Post-Christmas Blues

In this chapter, the author finds himself in the middle of an awkward situation when a colleague sells a cellphone plan to a customer without telling him the complete truth. When the customer asked the author whether his colleague was telling him the truth, he couldn’t come with a convincing answer. The colleague ended up getting fired, and the customer got his money back.

Paula

This chapter is about Paula – a twenty-year-old colleague who unexpectedly volunteered information about her personal life to author, which makes him think about his own life when he was her age in India.

Two Americas

This chapter shows how the author navigates his way around the different Americas in his life—his wife’s academic world, his colleagues at work, and his friends who studied at the most elite colleges in India.

I’m Straight Today

In this chapter the author describes about dealing with a same-sex couple for the first time at the electronics store. The chapter draws from his experiences in India, where few people are open about their sexual orientation, and where homosexuality has been criminalized at some times.

One Month’s Notice

This chapter talks about how the author finds it hard to communicate with the customers and struggles to perform well. As a result, his boss puts him on a month’s notice to improve or leave.

Lucknow

In this chapter, the author gives readers the backstory of where he is from and how he grew up in India.

Long Two Years

This chapter talks about a real-life family drama that unfolds in the store, right before the eyes of the author when he tries to sell a cellphone plan to a young couple. Along with the young woman's father, they discuss whether it would be the right decision to get into a two-year family plan when they aren't sure whether they will going to be together that long.

All Hands on Deck

This chapter explains how the author doesn’t mistakenly calls his African-American coworker a politically incorrect word. His colleague and friend explained to him that it was okay for him to address the author with that name, but it wasn’t allowed for him to do that. The author didn’t understand the racial intricacies as a newcomer in the United States. He got away with that mistake, because he was an outsider—outside of the black/white binary.

Holly and I

This chapter revisits the author’s relationship with his wife, and his family life at home.

My Name Is Deepak

This chapter looks at the author's responses to being given a nickname by his co-workers: Tupac. They do it in a friendly manner, but the author doesn’t understand the connection with the American rapper. It makes him think about who he is, his identity, and how people see him in his adopted country.