Astha was brought up properly, as befits a woman, with large supplements of fear . . . Astha has everything an educated, middle-class Delhi woman could ask for - a dutiful loving husband, space for children and affluent surroundings. So why should she be consumed with a sense of unease and dissatisfaction? She finds herself embarking on a powerfully physical relationship with a much younger woman, Pipee, the widow of a political activist. But with this extra-marital affair is Astha foolishly jeopardizing everything - or is she at last throwing off the fear and timidity instilled in her by her parents, her husband, her social class?