The travel bug bit author Peter O’Neil at a young age, propelling him out of his comfort zone and into a life of teaching and globetrotting. When the middle-school math teacher accepts a job at an international school in New Delhi, he embraces the opportunity to immerse himself in life in one of India’s largest cities.

But a chance encounter with five cousins from the Kassana family at a lesser-known tourist site in Delhi offers O’Neil the opportunity to step away from the comforts of expatriate living and experience life in rural India.

In their early twenties, the five men are members of the Gurjar caste—one of the lower castes—and barely able to communicate in English. Somehow, despite the significant differences in language, culture, and socioeconomic status, O’Neil and the cousins travel together to some of the country’s most rural villages, experiencing plenty of adventures along the way.

Documenting the country’s mosaic of color and contradiction, O’Neil introduces readers to India in all its splendor and suffering, taking them beyond the common sightseer spots and stereotypes to the heart and soul of the subcontinent.