Nikhil Parikh lives a middle-class life with his widowed mom in India. Since he has now matured, his mom would like him to get a good job and get married, but Nikhil does not want to do so. So his paternal uncle in Toronto, Canada, sponsors him and he agrees to re-locate there. Upon arrival, his uncle, Chetan, informs him that he arranged for a job at his very firm namely Cohen Hospital Supplies, which is run by a Jewish family, consisting of father, Sam; son, Morris, and Morris’ wife, Hannah. Nikhil brushes up on this firm and meets with Morris on the very same day, and he is offered the job - not quite what he had expected - but for looking after Sam, who is now senile - and is obsessed with returning to Israel. This is where Nikhil will get his Canadian name, Shwartza (Black boy), and he will learn to call his male and female employers as Sir and Madame respectively. He will also face his first challenge - when Sam decides to run away on the very first day. Nikhil overcomes the trauma of the first day at the job, and eventually befriends Sam, who even calls him Zayda (father). Both bond and spend considerable time together. When Morris and Hannah leave for an overnight trip, Nikhil takes Sam to his apartment, where he lives with Baldev, a taxi-driver; Xavier and Keith - who are waiters at a Chinese restaurant; as well as Ali Akbar; and Chetan himself. This is where Sam will experience freedom as he had before - a freedom that will have dire consequences for him and Nikhil in the near future.