Idealistic Nikhil, a wealthy Bengali landowner, encourages Bimala, his tradition-minded wife, to venture out into the world. Bimala's gradual political awakening leads to her attraction to charismatic Sandip, a revolutionary who stops at nothing — neither robbery nor murder — to achieve his ends. Their love triangle unfolds against the backdrop of the 1905 Partition of Bengal, during India's long fight for independence from British rule. This brilliantly poetic novel explores