In India, pregnant Rama (Shabana Azmi) and her husband, Naurangia (Naseeruddin Shah), flee their village after Naurangia vengefully kills a man who had murdered a kindly schoolteacher. Fugitives from justice, they end up in Calcutta, but are unable to find shelter or jobs. Homeless and destitute, they accept the only opportunity offered to them: they agree to drive a herd of pigs many miles, which includes crossing the wide, raging river flowing between them and their destination.