This epic panorama of rural Bengal, is set in the time of the Tebhaga movement of the 1940s, the peasants' uprising against unjust 'taxes' by landlords that was led by the Communist Party. Spanning generations, this story relates how the struggle changed rural Bengal. Roy depicts a range of women, educated and the less educated, who join the struggle and find some freedom in their lives. With a rare sensitivity and a tremendous sweep of vision, she narrates the triumph, the idealism and the stories of those who fought for or resisted change.