An Indian-American man recalls his life. He moved from Calcutta, where he grew up, to London, in 1964. Five years later, his parents arranged a marriage for him with a woman from Calcutta and he got a job in the US, working at an MIT library. He flew to Calcutta to get married then moved to Boston, with plans for his wife to join him later. He spent awhile living at the YMCA and adjusting to life in America. Then, he began to rent a room from a strange old woman named Mrs. Croft who, each day, would exclaim to him that there was an American flag on the moon, even long after the news was old, and insist that he exclaim: "Splendid!" Mrs. Croft's daughter, Helen, sometimes came by to take care of her. Six weeks later, his wife, Mala, flies to join him in the US. They had only spent a few days together in Calcutta, and their relationship was neither intimate nor affectionate. They were practically strangers. He realizes he will have to help Mala navigate life in the US. He moves out of Mrs. Croft's house and rents an apartment for them. A week into living with her, her presence still seems stranger to him. She brings elements of Indian culture with her that he hadn't yet found in the US. Then, one day, he takes her to visit Mrs. Croft. Mrs. Croft has broken her hip and Helen is taking care of her. He introduces Mala to Mrs. Croft, who seems skeptical at first then exclaims, "She is a perfect lady!" Mala and the man share a moment of laughter and are closer to one another after that day. They build a life together and fall in love. She consoles him when one day he reads Mrs. Croft's obituary in the paper. Now, in the present day, Mala and the man own a house in the Boston suburbs. They have become American citizens. They have a son who attends Harvard. Often, Mala misses him and they drive to pick him up, so he can spend the weekend with them and enjoy things that are culturally Indian that the man worries he doesn't get to do around his peers. When the man makes this drive, he always drives past Mrs. Croft's old street. The couple is always amazed they were ever strangers. Their son is always amazed how little his father paid in rent. The father thinks about the unfathomable achievement of his life and his travels across three continents before settling down.