In the three stories of 'Leaving, Staying, Returning: A Trilogy", Shahrokh Meskoob explores the question of identity in relation to individuals and groups that have left their native country and culture and live as immigrants, whether by choice or by force, in a country and culture alien to their own. In "Traveler’s Chronicle", which is the story of leaving his country and his early days in exile, he tells the story of his departure and the reason for it; but through his story, he also tells the story of millions of not only Iranian but also other immigrants and exiles. The rather negative and bitter tone of the story of leaving is obviously due to the fact that the narrator has been uprooted from his natural environment in his country without having been able to establish “roots” in the new environment and culture. The tone of "Dialogue in the Garden", in which the narrator seems to feel somewhat settled in the new environment, is more contemplative, and he seems to be seeking a home or a homeland in his imagination. In "Journey in a Dream", the tone is nostalgic, and the narrator’s return is through memories and remembrances. While within these stories, Meskoob explores his own individual as well as Iranian collective cultural identity, he also sheds light on cultural identity in our world today, in which exile and immigration have become more common than ever before.