Priya and Ashok Shah have worked hard to give their three children a good life. They had just moved into their dream house in an upper middle class neighborhood in southern California. Just weeks after the move, they are at a dinner party when they receive a phone call informing them that their twelve year old son, Ajay, is at the Los Angeles Police Station. That call triggers the beginning of Priya and Ashok’s realization that the American dream is just that-a dream.

Although A Great Country raises some interesting points for discussion, it tries to cover too many issues in too few pages. Also, the main characters are one dimensional and almost stereotypical.