Ardashir Vakil was born in Bombay; his father was a nationally famous lawyer ("vakil" means lawyer, in fact) and his mother established a number of bookstores. Vaki l attended St. Mary's School and finished his schooling at The Doon School in the footh ills of the Himalayas before moving to Great Britain to take an English degree at Magdalene College in Cambridge. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters. He currently teaches at the Homsey School for Girls. While continuing to teach four days a week, he is working on his second novel, which is set in London.