Ram Mohammad Thomas may be in jail, but he is not a criminal. A penniless 18-year-old waiter from the slums of India, Ram appeared to be on the path to wealth when he correctly answered 12 questions on the TV show Who Wants to Win a Billion? The show's producers bribe the police to arrest him for cheating, and as Ram's lawyer rescues him from prison, he also extracts Ram's amazing life-story and a captivating portrait of 21st-century India.