The novel weaves an intricate fictional narrative using historical events as the backdrop, particularly focusing on the Assam Movement (1979–1985). At its core is Aditi Choudhury, an erudite college lecturer and erstwhile revolutionary whose ideological fervour once defined the Movement’s very essence.

Through Aditi’s odyssey, the novel offers a profound meditation on the socio-political metamorphosis of Assam over a quarter-century. The intricately crafted tale illuminates the vicissitudes of time, and the evolving agency of women in an era fraught with upheaval.

An active leader of the Assam Movement (1979-1985), Aditi goes on to becomes a lecturer and ideal wife to fellow revolutionary (and later, her husband) Chandan Phukan, who goes on to become a successful politician. The novel deftly employs the contours of Aditi’s life as an allegory for the transitory nature of conviction, ambition, and personal sacrifice.

The narrative serves as both an incisive chronicle of Assam’s contemporary political landscape and an unflinching critique of the dissonance between revolutionary ideals and the realities of governance in the post-movement era. At a more intimate level, it interrogates the intricate web of female agency, identity, and subjugation within the scaffolding of a deeply entrenched patriarchal order.