Through the journey of Meena's life, a low-caste woman in a South Indian village, comes the tale of a childhood tragedy, a mother's love, and a frightening tradition that may once again imprison the mind and body of her own daughter, who as one of many girls, seems to have no escape from a vicious and abusive cycle. Living under the clutches of a male dominated, caste oriented society, the low caste women and female children succumb to humiliation, degradation and ultimately lose their life to the deadly AIDS.