Calcutta in 1879. The Bengali Renaissance is at its peak, and India is under British rule. The beautiful Charulata idles her life away in an opulent Victorian mansion, secluded from the outside world. Her husband, Bhupati, an idealistic intellectual, is adoring and supportive. However, he is consumed by the publication of his new political newspaper and is unable to spend time with Charulata. When his younger cousin, Amal, arrives, Bhupati enlists his help to cultivate Chaulata’s latent creativity in writing. An increasingly intimate relationship develops between Charulata and Amal which in the beginning is based on complicity and writing, but eventually develops into love.