Weight of Heaven

When Frank and Ellie Benton lose their only child, Benny, to a quick-striking illness, the complete and perfect life they had built for themselves seems shattered forever. The American couple is devastated by Benny's sudden death. Fresh memories of the seven-year-old's once lively, laughing presence fill every room of their Ann Arbor home. Each week is now more bewildering and saddening than the last, and after eleven years of marriage, the Bentons find themselves on the verge of separation. But a chance job offer from Frank's employer and longtime friend offers the perfect opportunity to change locations, start fresh, and save their relationship. Four months after Benny's death, Frank and Ellie move to Girbaug, India, where Frank agrees to head an herbal medicine factory. He quickly befriends a local youngster, Ramesh, whose schooling, extracurricular activities, and boyhood entertainments quickly become the focus of Frank's time and energies.

Over the protestations of Ramesh's real father, Frank transforms himself into a parent figure for the young boy. Ramesh's bright, curious nature and his adoring attitude toward Frank quickly begin to fill the gaping hole left by Benny's death. Ellie immediately senses a distressing substitution taking place-one son for another, Ramesh for Benny-and her misgivings about the newly developing father-son relationship blossom in the wake of their growing proximity.

Haunting memories of Benny and a consuming desire to make his family right and whole lead Frank down an ever-darkening path of moral gray. When a labor dispute at the factory results in a seemingly accidental death, Frank sees how easily his right-hand man is able to cover up murder-and he begins to make a deadly scheme of his own. Convinced that Ramesh is his family's only hope for happiness, Frank secretly plans to adopt the boy by arranging for his parents to be killed. In a gripping, chilling climax, Frank must face the disastrous results of this decision-a path that he will ultimately, and unexpectedly, travel alone.

From Ann Arbor, Michigan to Girbaug, India, Umrigar takes readers on a heart-wrenching journey through the lives of one family-once together, and now forever apart. Glowing with vibrant realism, her story offers a rare glimpse at a country struggling under the pressures of modernization and a growing Western influence. In a powerful illumination of culture clash, THE WEIGHT OF HEAVEN ultimately reveals how slowly we recover from unforgettable loss, how easily good-hearted intentions turn on their bearers, and how far we might go to build a new world for those we love.