Set in a village in the Indian state of Kerala on the eve of Gandhi's freedom movement, Shadow Kill tells the story of Kaliyappan, a guilt-ridden hangman haunted by the memory of the men he has executed. He lives in constant fear of being called by the British authorities to perform his next execution, and his fellow villagers, because of his proximity to death, believe him to possess the powers of the goddess Kali. When he is summoned to perform one more hanging, he fears that his most dreaded premonition may be about to come true.