Former tiffin boy Ram Mohammad Thomas has correctly answered twelve questions on a television quiz show to win a cool one billion rupees. But he is brutally slung in prison on suspicion of cheating—for how else could a poor, uneducated orphan know so much: the name of the smallest planet, global capitals, and diplomatic policy? In the order of the questions on the show, Ram tells us which amazing adventures in his street-kid life gave him the answers.

From orphanages to brothels, gangsters to beggar-masters, and into the homes of Bollywood’s rich and famous, Ram’s story is brimming with the chaotic comedy, heart-stopping tragedy, and tear-inducing joyousness of modern India.