The story’s plot centers around a game of hide-and-seek on a hot summer day in India as a group of children seeks the freedom of the outdoors as an escape from the oppressive heat inside their house. The children’s play, described by the narrator as “the business of the children’s day” (Paragraph 7), is deceptively serious, serving as an imaginary terrain in which they act out their ambitions and resentments, try on gender roles, and seek to discover who they are in preparation for entering the mysterious adult world they see all around them.

The text highlights Familial Roles and Relationships within the traditional family structure of India, with extended family living together (or nearby). The mother is the primary caregiver within the home, there are multiple children, and the father is mentioned (though not seen) as the adult who provides the financial support for the family. There are other adults mentioned—as well as cousins—by Ravi, who emerges as the story’s protagonist. Ravi’s family appears to have a comfortable life economically, as they employ a driver and a gardener and have a generous lawn and garden where the children can spread out and play.