At the age of five, Rajiv Travers, the child of an Indian mother and English father, finds himself shipped off to America to the house of his uncle's mistress, Ruth. The small town Ruth lives in turns out to be as exotic and strange to Rajiv as he is to its inhabitants. His close friendship with four local children helps him settle into his new life, but also leads to his discovery of a terrible secret that shadows the whole community. Ultimately, the chidren's changing desires and shifting loyalties, and the personal failings- and secrets- of the adults around them lead to tragic consequences... The Perfect Man was winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize.