Essie Almeida is a devout Catholic woman in Mumbai. She is upset that her daughter, Marian, married a white American man and moved to the other side of the world. Marian, her husband Daniel, and their daughters Tara and Nicole come to India to visit for a few weeks. The girls adopt a trio of stray cats that begin to sleep on the Almeidas’ porch. Days before Marian and her family are set to return to the US, Essie finds a lump in her breast. She is certain that she has cancer, and she secretly hopes that her daughter will extend her stay while they wait for a diagnosis. However, Marian, Daniel, and the girls leave as scheduled. After a tearful goodbye, Essie composes a long letter to her daughter that she never sends. She explains her overwhelming love and resentment for her. She feels Marian abandoned her by moving to America. Marian calls her mother nightly and asks for updates on the biopsy. Essie receives a letter from Nicole, who asks her if she’s ever seen a tiger. She reflects on the time she saw one in the jungle. Eventually, the doctor calls and says the tumor is benign. The next time Marian calls, Essie tells her that she still hasn’t heard anything. She knows that calls will be few and far between once her daughter’s worries are assuaged. She tells her husband, Francis, the news, though, and he tells Marian. Sure enough, the calls stop coming. Essie chases the cats off the porch in anger. The next day, a man named Gopi comes to harvest coconuts from the family’s trees. He has just had a son, and Essie congratulates him. When he leaves, Essie discovers that one of the kittens has returned to the house. As she feeds it, she longs for the day when her daughter will do the same.