Mr. Pirzada is a botany professor from Dhaka and is living in New England for the year after receiving a research grant from the Pakistani Government; he has left behind his wife and seven daughters, who he has not contacted in months. Because his grant does not provide him much for daily provisions, he routinely visits ten-year-old Lilia and her family for dinner, often bringing confectionery for the young girl. When Lilia mistakenly refers to Mr. Pirzada as "Indian" to her parents in private, her father tells her that he is Pakistani, which is puzzling to Lilia because he looks like her parents, eats the same things, and speaks Bengali like them. However, the constant television news of the East Pakistan-West Pakistan War informs her about Mr. Pirzada's differences as well as his current plight. Because of this, she decides one night to eat the candy he gives her, pray, and forgo brushing her teeth so that the magic of the candy through prayer will remain. She also tries her best to learn as much about Pakistan as possible from her school library. Her curiosity is stunted by her teacher telling her there is "no reason to consult" the book on Pakistan.