Meera Chaudry is an 18 year old Indian girl brought up in a family where politics and power are at the heart of the family. She witnessed the haunting and unmentionable suicide of her Mother and the pain of not being able to save her leaves her feeling empty and raw. In a bid to recollect her Mother's death, she finds solace amongst her ashes. She meets people on the outside of her life and is befriended by a girl who society has created and for a moment, they live the lives of extraordinary people but in the real world. Reality does take over and pain, sorrow and isolation become rife once more and to move forward, she is forced into a marriage of political convenience to a man twice her age. Her life unfolds as she finds comfort in her Mother's veils and starts to live the unhappy life that her Mother lived.