This stunning collection of short stories explores the attraction and confusion that arise when East and West meet. Fantasy and realism collide in tales such as a rickshaw driver writing home about his stardom in Bombay; a misunderstanding that leads to a romance and unusual engagement in 1960s London; two childhood friends living out fantasies as diplomats inspired by Star Trek; and Christopher Columbus dreaming of a full-fledged romantic union with Queen Isabella. With one foot in the East and one foot in the West, this collection reveals the ocean-wide distances and unexpected intimacies between both cultures.