The film is about relationship, relationship of humans with God and about the relationship off great men like Buddha, Kabir, Tulsi and Shankaracharya with Banaras. With this as the core subject, the film delves into the relationship of a loving young daughter, with her parents. Shwetambari (Urmilla Matondkar), the bright young daughter of rich Brahmin parents (Dimple Kapadia & Raj Babbar) studies science at the local university in Banaras. Soham (Ashmit Patel) a low caste mystic and a protégé of Babaji (Naseeruddin Shah), teaches music at the University. When the two fall in love, hell breaks loose in Banaras. The orthodox and conservatives surface to the fore, threatening to take away everything form the young lovers. When her powerful parents try to ignore the social strictures for the happiness of their daughter, the dark forces and destiny take complete control. A shattered Shwetambari makes a choice. She decides to abandon the very city she loves the most. In despair hopelessness she turns inwards to look for answers. 17 years later, Shwetambari, now a world teacher in philosophy and religion, is confronted with a final choice? a choice whether to return to Banaras to meet her dying father or to continue to deny all attachments. Will she decide to go back to Banaras? And if she does, would the sleeping demons and the dark secrets lying underneath like a dormant volcano erupt once again and destroy her peace of mind for ever?