Summary

The story opens in Delhi, 2004. A horrific car crash has occurred, leaving five people who were sleeping on the street dead. The man behind the wheel, Ajay, is clearly too poor to be the owner of the Mercedes, and he is too intoxicated to be interrogated by police. Ajay is taken to prison and attacked by a prison gang with razors. After he recovers in the prison hospital, he is taken to the prison warden who apologizes for his harsh experience thus far and explains that since Ajay is a 'Wadia man' he will be taken care of.

The plot flashes back to Maharajganj, Eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP), India in 1991. Ajay is just eight years old, living with his father, pregnant mother, and sister. The family is deeply poor, but it is not unusual for the region. Ajay's father, Hari, is killed by a...