A Guardian and a Thief

A Guardian and a Thief (2025) is a literary science fiction novel by Megha Majumdar. Set in a climate-ravaged, near-future Kolkata, the novel follows a mother known as “Ma” during a seven-day countdown to recover stolen passports and immigration documents for her family to flee the city. Meanwhile, her path collides with a starving young thief, Boomba, who is also attempting to keep his family alive. Through Ma and Boomba’s attempts to keep their respective families safe, the novel explores Survival Ethics in a Collapsing System, The Challenges of Parenthood and Protectiveness, and The Urgency of the Climate Crisis.

Majumdar drew on her own experiences and concerns in writing A Guardian and a Thief, as she noted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that having a child of her own urged her to explore the impact of family on morality in the novel. A Guardian and a Thief was selected as an Oprah’s Book Club Pick. Majumdar’s first novel, A Burning, was longlisted for the National Book Award, covering similar themes of hope and humanity in desperate circumstances.

This guide is based on the 2025 Kindle Alfred Knopf edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of sexual assault and harassment, graphic violence, and death.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with Ma hearing a man in the street and suspecting he is a thief. Ma has been stealing from a shelter, at which she is the manager, to feed her family. Dadu, her father, writes poetry and plays with Mishti, her daughter, while Ma cleans up one of Mishti’s messes. They are moving to America in seven days to move in with Ma’s husband, Baba, who lives and works in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kolkata is becoming dangerous, both due to climate change and rampant crime, but Dadu maintains a positive outlook. Dadu, Ma, and Mishti take a rickshaw to the consulate, where they get their passports and visas for the trip. Dadu gives the rickshaw driver some water, and Ma wonders if Mishti might have needed the water later.

At home, Ma puts Mishti to bed and leaves a window cracked, placing her purse on the ground. In the night, Boomba, a thief who was staying at the shelter, breaks into their home, stealing their food, the purse, and a toy truck. Boomba knows about Ma stealing from the shelter. After taking their food, Boomba leaves and sells the food, keeping the money from Ma’s purse and the toy truck, which he plans to give to his younger brother, Robi. Boomba throws the passports in a trash heap.

Ma discovers her purse is missing, and she and Dadu go to the police, who laugh at them. They go back to the consulate, but the clerk is only willing to avoid canceling their visas, refusing to issue new documents. Ma lies to Baba about the passports being stolen. Ma’s neighbor, Mrs. Sen, has video footage of Boomba stealing the food, which Ma and Dadu use to ask for help around town. No one recognizes the photo, but an editor who worked with Dadu offers to enhance the image. A merchant recognizes the thief’s shirt and sends Ma to Boomba. Ma confronts Boomba, but he threatens to turn Ma over to the police for stealing from the shelter if she tries to get him in trouble. Ma knows she stole a lot of money, so she settles for asking Boomba to help her find the passports. He agrees but demands that Ma let him and his family move into her home when she leaves.

Boomba grew up in a village outside Kolkata, and his family struggled to make a living. When Boomba illegally hunted crabs, it got the family in trouble, and Boomba later accidentally burned down their home. Boomba left for Kolkata to find a new home for his family, working for a ferry service. After a tree collapsed on his apartment, Boomba moved into the shelter, where he saw Ma stealing. Boomba believed that honesty would not bring him anything good, so he decided to become a thief.

They go to the trash heap, where people are searching for discarded food, but Boomba flees. Ma cannot find the passports and gives up. Dadu looks for something to give Mishti to eat, going first to a ration shop, where he lies and claims that Mishti has diabetes. Dadu buys Mishti a painting of a rhino, then he steals an orange from a crying child. During a coughing fit, Dadu asks a random family for water, but then tries to rob them when he sees cauliflower, Mishti’s favorite food, in their doorway. The family beats Dadu, who escapes with some food, but he refuses to tell Ma where he got it.

Ma decides to buy fake passports from a photocopier, using her mother’s gold to pay for the service. Baba tells her about the new apartment he is getting for them in Michigan, and Ma avoids telling him about the passport trouble. Boomba comes to Ma’s house and demands to live with her until she leaves. Knowing Boomba might jeopardize her plans, Ma allows him to move in. Boomba calls his family and lies, saying his boss gave him a house for them to live in. In the night, Boomba kidnaps Mishti to bring her to the hexagon, an island on which a billionaire is throwing a feast. Ma tries to catch up to Boomba, but she misses the last ferry to the island.

On the island, Boomba and Mishti enjoy the feast, and Boomba tries to steal from the billionaire. The guests riot, allowing Boomba to steal a jeweled globe and some rice, but he must drop the rice to save Mishti when their boat sinks. Mishti cannot remember the day to tell Ma what happened, and Dadu beats Boomba with a stick, ejecting him from the house. Boomba goes to Mrs. Sen’s house, breaking in and hiding. Dadu dies in his sleep from his head injury, and Ma has him cremated. Ma is lost without Dadu, but she brings Mishti to the photocopy shop, where they get their new passports. Ma avoids telling Baba about Dadu’s death. Baba is struggling to adjust to life in America, and he is excited for his wife and child to arrive.

Ma discovers that the fake passports are bleeding ink, and she cannot get a hold of the photocopier. A neighbor brings her the real passports and visas, and she and Mishti go to the airport. However, all flights to America are canceled indefinitely due to protests over climate immigration. Ma and Mishti head home, and Ma lies to Baba, telling him they are on the plane.

While Ma and Mishti are gone, Boomba moves into their house and brings his family from the village. They quickly settle in and start using Ma and Dadu’s things. Boomba’s parents are suspicious of Boomba’s story, but they like the house. Ma comes home, sees people in her house, and arms herself with gardening shears, sending Mishti to Mrs. Sen’s house. Ma confronts Boomba’s father with the shears but gets distracted by Robi. Boomba’s father kills Ma with a pressure cooker, and Boomba tries to lie about Ma being a crook. Boomba’s family knows he lied about the house. Boomba goes to Mrs. Sen’s to retrieve Mishti.