In 2006, Pavitra, a young Indian woman, is in the United States doing her extra 12 months of work experience--Optional Practical Training--following her graduation. She takes a position as a math and physics teacher at a private high school, but what she really wants is to break from her family's expectations and finish writing a novel. Through her encounters with her landlord, colleagues, students, parents of her students, and others, Pavitra finds each has their own expectations of her, too, and they shape her understanding of race, immigration, privilege, and herself.