TARA MOVES TO THE AMERICAN SOUTH three years after her arranged marriage to tech executive Sanjay. Ignored and lonely, Tara finds herself reliving childhood memories that scarred her for life. When she was eight, her parents moved to Dubai to make a new life for the family, taking her baby brother along with them?but leaving Tara behind in Mangalore with her aging grandparents and a schizophrenic uncle. Tara's memories of abandonment and isolation mirror her present life of loneliness and escalating abuse at the hands of her husband until, in a moment of truth, she discovers the importance of self-worth?a revelation that gives her the courage to break free, even at the risk of being shunned by her community. After leaving Sanjay, Tara gently rebuilds her life and even marries her childhood love, Cyrus?and her life with him is beautiful, until old fears come knocking. Ultimately, Tara must face these fears, both to save her marriage and to confront the victim-shaming society she was raised within.