For Mike Carrara, the mysterious East becomes very real in the shape of a wondrous white elephantaan unexpected gift from an uncle he hardly knew. Here is a story of joy, and of tears, that begins in the sweltering heat of an Indian courtroom and continues to an off-the-grid farm in the hills of Maryland, and to the frozen, removed lands of neo-capitalistic Siberia. It is a tale of the everyday, yet also a tale of the transcendent. It is a tale to be retold and reread, for it possesses a dimension of the human experience that is mythic and yet so compassionately real. The characters you will meet are not only unforgettable, but youall find yourself in close identity with some. It is a tale that you will wish could continue.