Against the exquisite backdrop of Goa, which forms a realist travelogue, is woven a make-believe tale of people living in a spiritual commune. The young protagonist, through whose eyes one gets to see the unravelling of this tale, is a filled-in personality, posed against the other people who are merrily etched, perhaps two-dimensionally, weaving in and out of the story-like paper characters.

The residents of the commune strike you as leading a somewhat deluded existence, until the invasion of unseemly characters from the outside world, which could have tilted the balance. But they don't succeed in their nefarious plans and are shunned by the commune, whose loosely connected inhabitants now appear closely bound to each other in their loyalties, and whose delusory lives suddenly seem to take on a compelling and moving simplicity. Delving into the thought processes and scanning mental horizons, the seascapes and landscapes become a metaphor for mindscapes that go beyond time and remain unfathomed. It becomes a voyage of illusions and delusions, dreams and reality. Grappling with this paradox, the novel makes a curious attempt to explore the mystique called human existence.

And yet another account of the protagonist's mountain journey constitutes a corollary to this travelogue within the book, while beautiful imagery of nature in its element and sketches of lamas drawn by the author, complement the narration.