Safiyah's husband Aarif has worked as a servant, first for the British and then for the wealthy family living at Purana Qila. After a robbery leaves him under a cloud of suspicion, Aarif moves to north India to find work, leaving his wife behind with their two young daughters and no money. It is 1947: the British are leaving and Partition is looming, as tensions between Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus break out all across the country. Political riots escalate to mass murder, making neighbors distrust one another and travel perilous. The division of India and Pakistan places a border between husband and wife, just as Safiyah hears some gossip about Aarif that makes her question whether her family will ever be whole again. She has a difficult decision to make: whether she will allow a rumor to tear her family apart or risk embarking on a journey from which she may never return.
