 Vanaja, the 15 year old daughter of a financially troubled fisherman goes to work in the local landlady s house in hopes of learning Kuchipudi dance. She does well, but when the Landlady s son returns from the US, what begins as innocent sexual chemistry turns ugly, ending in a rape - a rape of a minor. Set in rural South India, a place where social barriers are built stronger than ancient fort walls, the film explores the chasm that divides classes as a young girl struggles to come of age.