Hamid's novel, while slim, is not an "easy" read because it asks us to confront our own prejudices about the immigrant experience in light of the events of 9/11 and the national security state in which we live. Raised in Lahore, Pakistan, the narrator Changez takes advantage of an Ivy League education to launch a high-powered career in finance, evaluating the fundamentals of corporations about to be swallowed by other corporations. He falls for a fellow student and his love for Erica begins to parallel his American experience; she seems to want him, but cannot commit because her heart is elsewhere. The events of 9/11 conspire with his ill-fated romance to throw his U.S. life in a new light.