The image of a love-crazed hero haunts Koimala, the gentle brahman girl, and her low-caste sweetheart, the young boatman, Golak, as they live out their doomed love story: doomed because social and religious taboos damn their forbidden love. In this masterful and deeply sensitive tale, Mahasweta Devi once again interweaves a social tapestry and the detail of human lives, creating a powerful tale of love, longing and passion set in a time when the British are beginning to consolidate their hold on Bengal.