The Chawla family lives in a small town in India. Their ne'er do well son, Sampath, has been a failure for most of his life; at school, at work, and at life in general. After losing his post office job he tires of his family's nagging and climbs a tree in a nearby guava orchard to find some peace and contemplate his life. Through a series of misunderstandings and mishaps Sampath becomes an unlikely holy man to the town and his father has turned it into a money making opportunity. A local monkey known for attacking patrons of the local movie theater becomes friendly with Sampath. Soon a troop of monkeys have converged on the orchard. When the monkeys develop an insatiable taste for alcohol, the band of drunken monkeys become a problem in the orchard and the town. Various solutions are proposed by ineffectual government officials, none of which seem to solve the problem. In the meantime, Sampath's sister has developed a crush on the local ice cream vendor and begins to stalk him. In addition there is a spy from a local atheist organization who is trying prove that Sampath is a phony. And poor Sampath just wants to be left alone. The culmination of all the hullabaloo is an open ending that leaves you wondering if Sampath succeeded in finding peace. This is a fun book with several laugh out loud moments.
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