This dazzling collection of short stories explores the allure and
confusion of what happens when East meets West. Fantasy and realism collide
as a rickshaw driver writes letters home describing his film star career in
Bombay; a mispronunciation leads to romance and an unusual courtship in
sixties London; two childhood friends turned diplomats live out fantasies
hatched by Star Trek; and Christopher Columbus dreams of consummating his
relationship with Queen Isabella. With one foot in the East and one foot in
the West, this collection reveals the oceanic distances and the unexpected
intimacies between the two.