When Ram Mohammed Thomas, an eighteen-year-old waiter from the slums of Mumbai, wins one billion rupees on India’s newest imitation of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he is arrested almost immediately. Having offered a prize they are incapable of dispensing, the producers face bankruptcy unless Ram is convicted of cheating. A confession should be easy to obtain; after all, the chances of an uneducated orphan guessing twelve correct answers are astronomical. Even Ram’s lawyer, Smita, is sceptical at first – but behind each answer is a tale from Ram’s remarkable life, and as each tale unfolds, she comes to understand the luck he has made for himself.