The title of the book refers to a proverb from a region in Pakistan. The first time you share a cup of tea with a villager, you are a stranger; the second time, you are an honored guest; the third time you become family. Mortensen, an experienced climber, failed on his attempt to summit K-2; sheltered for seven weeks in a Pakistani village, he went to return their kindness by building the town's first school-and ultimately launching a project that built more than 50 schools across the region.