The Prologue describes Saroo’s first moments in his Indian hometown after a 25-year absence. He recognizes the small, derelict room he used to share with his mother, Kamla, his older brothers, Guddu and Kallu, and his baby sister, Shekila. The room looks abandoned. Saroo tries to communicate with a neighbor in broken Hindi. An English-speaking man arrives. Saroo explains who he is and why he has come. The man asks him to wait. Saroo hopes to receive information about his birth family, but when the man returns, he says: “Come with me. I’m going to take you to your mother” (4).

Chapter 1 centers on Saroo’s early years in Hobart, in the home of his adoptive parents, Sue and John Brierley (Mum and Dad). Saroo’s parents make him feel loved and wanted. They also keep him connected to his Indian roots by spending time with Indian neighbors and decorating the house with Indian objects, notably, a map of India, which Sue affixes to Saroo’s bedroom wall. Five-year-old Saroo is unable to explain who he is and where he came from. Sue and John assume he is from Kolkata, which is where he lived when they adopted him.