Clashes between illusionary expectations vs. stark realities are the setting of this unique story at the time of pre-partition India. Saleem, an intelligent boy grows up plagued by health problems in an oppressing political climate and succeeds in getting his Master's degree in Chemistry in India. He witnesses the simultaneous collapse of the British Empire in India and the establishment of Pakistan. Migration to the newly established state of Pakistan, the country of his dreams, only further serves to disillusion his faith and deals a set back to his aspirations. Perseverance and special achievements in a research lab however propel him to a coveted assistantship at the University of Oregon where he struggles with a whole new set of obstacles to be overcome in his quest for a PhD degree in Western society. Saleem eventually marries a girl he meets on campus and finds himself adapting to his new father-in-law from Kashmir and mother-in-law from England. He witnesses that couple's effort to adjust to their own ethnic differences and discovers that similar problems arise in every generation and the solution lies in tolerance and mutual understanding.