Written in verse, The Golden Gate was Vikram Seth's first novel, before the epic A Suitable Boy. Set in the eighties in the affluence and sunshine of California's Silicon Valley, it is an exuberant and witty story of twenty-somethings looking for love, pleasure and the meaning of life. Admired by writers like Martin Amis and Angela Carter, it is a book that underneath its dazzling surface deals with the important issues of people's relationships and the pursuit of happiness.