In eighteenth-century Bengal, the East India influence and power is growing; the treasuries of the zamindars are emptying out and their mansions crumbling. Young Raj Chandra Chowdhury remains oblivious to these epochal changes. He’s preoccupied with Rongomala, his mistress, a low-born dancing girl. His uncle Rajendta Narayan sees a chance, conspiring to cake over. Meanwhile, Raj Chandrats childlike wife Phuleswari has developed a queer bond of sisterhood with her nemesis. As for Rongomala herself, she dares to defy her caste status by demanding that a lake be dug in her name; she wishes to be remembered after her youth and beauty have run their course. It is an audacity that might cost her dearly.