When Deja, from the lowest caste of Ichhapurti, is wrongly convicted of attempting to assault and rob Ichhapurti's most revered Brahmin, three teenage friends decide to befriend the lonely young man. Disregarding the dangerous fallout of their secret visits to the banished convict, the boys are amazed by Deja's ability to assimilate his unfair retribution and a life of degradation and despair, with dignity and without bitterness or anger. Fully aware of Deja's innocence and the divide between ideals extolled and those actually practiced in the real world, the boys form an emotional bond that challenges not just their friendship, but, in the final reckoning, also tests their avowed allegiance to the lonely convict.