The chapter opens in 1960 in Parambil, where a ten-year-old boy named Lenin Evermore arrives unannounced. He is the only survivor of his family, who died from smallpox.
Lenin is taken in by Big Ammachi and is sent to a seminary school since he expresses a desire to become a priest. However, Lenin's free-spirited and rebellious nature leads to several 'misunderstandings' at the seminary and school, leading to his eventual displacement to Big Ammachi's care.
Lenin is precocious and confident, easily dominating conversations about his tragic past, his escape, and his harrowing journey.
Lenin's presence, though initially welcomed, starts to cause unrest as he exhibits rebellious behavior like defacing comic books and generally acting out.
A lightning incident where Lenin attempts to attract lightning to himself, and subsequently breaks his wrist, cements his unpredictable personality.
Philipose, Big Ammachi's son, eventually discusses sending Lenin to a boarding school due to his behavior, to which Lenin is indifferent.
Amid Lenin's story, reflections of family dynamics, caste politics, and societal issues are discussed.
The chapter also follows Mariamma, Philipose's daughter, who feels both an aversion and compulsion towards Lenin. She's always observing Lenin's actions, but also resentful of the admiration he receives.
Mariamma and her inseparable friend, Podi, enjoy secret swims in the canal, a prohibited activity which they fear could lead to serious reprimands.
In the latter part of the chapter, Philipose has a discussion with Joppan, Mariamma's friend's father, regarding the generational exploitation of pulayans (a low socioeconomic caste in Indian) like Joppan's father, Shamuel. He offers Joppan a manager's position and land ownership, but Joppan refuses, rejecting the idea of staying in Parambil under subjugation.
The main character is sleeping in a barge, dreaming of having a faster fleet despite setbacks on a current motorized barge project.
The character, Philipose, recalls his past dreams when he was younger, all the way from relocating to Madras to his complicated relationship with his significant other, Elsie.
Another character, Joppan, discusses his support of the Communist Party, which has a substantial following in several regions of India, particularly in Malayalam-speaking territories.
The Communist Party in these areas consists not only of the impoverished and marginalized, but also intellectuals and idealistic students committed to breaking down the country’s long-standing social caste system.
In 1952, the year another character Shamuel passed away, the Communist Party won 25 of the seats within the region’s governing body, the Congress.
Joppan predicts that Kerala, the region soon to be established through a merger, will be the first place where a Communist government is elected democratically instead of coming to power through a violent uprising.
Philipose reflects on this past conversation almost a decade later, acknowledging that Joppan’s prediction had actually come true: Kerala’s Communist Party had indeed won a majority in the democratic elections and formed the first democratically elected Communist government in the world.