In a bustling town in Punjab before the Partition, a sickly but restless child longs to play with the neighbourhood youngsters. He is constantly thwarted by his mother's anxious need to coddle him at home. When not being punished for using foul language, he is fighting with his siblings or being teased by the servant....

The braid of young Basanti's life thickens with time. Feisty and fearless, she plays hide and seek with her overbearing father, dodges the crippled old tailor whom she's sold to and elopes with a handsome young man. Unwilling to let anyone suppress her spirit, she even rejects the benevolence of Shyama bibi, her confidante and employer....

Independence for India, in 1947, came with a price: division on the basis of religion. In the communal riots that followed, hundreds of thousands were killed and millions rendered homeless. And the tragic legacy of Partition haunts the subcontinent even today....