Synopsis :

The film is composed of four stories about women who each belong to different strata of society.

The first, The Prostitute, is about a young prostitute who gives up her profession to start a new life with a kind and caring worker who has the low menial job of carrying loads on his head. In her fierce determination to eke out a decent living, she takes on a job herself that demands hard physical labour. The couple see themselves as husband and wife and nurse dreams of building up a future together free from the hazards of living on the streets. However, they find themselves helpless before the law of the land to prove that they are husband and wife.

The second story, The Virgin, is centred round a farm worker who is forced by her father getting bed-ridden to take on the responsibility of running her household at a very early age. In time, the fact that she was getting past the age of marriage became a constant worry for the parents as they could not find a suitable match for her. Then a friendly neighbour brings a proposal which appears to be suitable. The wedding is conducted with the usual fanfare and she is taken to the bridegroom’s house. There the man behaves strangely as he keeps evading any conversation or physical contact with her. After a couple of days, the man makes the customary visit to the in-laws and leaves her behind. As days pass stories spread that she has been abandoned by him because of her infidelity. The scandals grow and a worried father picks up a quarrel with the neighbour who had brought the proposal. The girl who had been silent all the while intervenes and announces that there was no relationship between her and the man.

The third story, The Housewife, is about a childless housewife. Having come to terms with the situation, she lives a fairly contented life with her husband who works in town. As the husband leaves home for his work-place early in the morning and returns late in the night, she is alone most of the time. One morning, she is visited by a senior classmate of hers on one of his infrequent visits to his mother living in the neighbourhood. They reminiscence over past days. The worldly-wise man finds in her an innocent woman who is distraught over her childlessness. He thinks she is vulnerable .

The last one, The Spinster, is about an upper middleclass girl who is obliged to bear the brunt of all the moral norms of her society. Her widowed mother runs the house with four children to look after - a boy and three girls. A marriage proposal for her which is almost finalized fizzles out when the groom suddenly prefers her younger sister. The mother agrees to it as it is seen as a good alliance for the family. Years pass on and no proposal works out for the daughter. Even her elder brother, having waited long, decides to get married. In due course, a suitable match is also found for the youngest sister. Then her mother passes away, forcing the daughter to move in with her younger married sister. Even this does not work as her sister cannot put up with another woman she sees as her rival in the house. That takes her back home. She is alone, refusing to live with either her brother or the youngest sister. She has now resolved to face the world by herself.