In the early 20th century, Binodini is a young Bengali Hindu girl who is left to her own devices when her sickly husband dies on the day after their wedding. She returns to her village and lives there for a couple of months until she encounters her aunt, another Bengali Hindu widow named Rajlakshmi, passing by. Binodini hails [Rajlakshmi] and she agrees that it would be best if Binodini came to live with her and her family at their North Kolkata residence.
Mahendra, the aunt’s son and an aspiring medical practitioner, was one of the first suitors to see Binodini’s photo when she was proposed as a prospective bride for him, yet he refused her on account of his being "unready for marriage." When Binodini arrives with her aunt, Mahendra and his new bride Ashalata are constantly sneaking off to be alone together. Mahendra’s infatuation with Ashalata leads him to introduce cooking non-vegetarian food into the household, provoking Rajlakshmi, a conservative Vaishnavite, to protest and leave the house to live out her days in Kashi.
Yet this infatuation does not last long, and the thoroughly Westernised Mahendra soon begins to see that the witty, English-speaking Binodini is more his type than his traditionalist, naive wife Ashalata. The tension deepens as Ashalata expresses admiration for Mahendra’s childhood best friend Behari, who in turn admires Binodini’s beauty. To spite Behari, Mahendra begins an affair with Binodini, and the truth soon comes to light. Ashalata, unaware of her pregnancy, departs in grief to live with Rajlakshmi. When Rajlakshmi learns of the affair, she expels Binodini from the house.
That night, Binodini seeks out Behari and pleads with him to marry her, but the traditionalist Behari refuses, still harboring feelings for Ashalata. With no other option, Binodini leaves Kolkata for her village. Mahendra goes there in an attempt to mend things, but Binodini refuses to reconcile with him. Instead, she makes him promise to take her to Behari, who has gone to Kashi after learning of Rajlakshmi’s failing health. At Kashi, Mahendra discovers Rajlakshmi’s death, apologizes to Ashalata, and brings her back to Kolkata.
Binodini then meets Behari, who, after some negotiations and moments of shared history, agrees to marry her. However, on the day of their wedding, Binodini vanishes, leaving a letter for Behari and another for Ashalata, apologising for interrupting in their marital bliss. The story ends with a sense of unresolved longing, memory, and the complexities of love, duty, and pride that linger long after the final act.
