In a fictional Indian city, violent clashes erupt between Hindus and Muslims. Each side meets the other with distrust, anger, and accusations. Friends and colleagues turn away from each other. Hospital beds fill up as classrooms empty. Curfews are imposed. Residents flee in large numbers.

Three intellectuals find themselves paralyzed by fear and dread. The author Shruti spends her time rewriting the same sentence over and over. Hanif is pressured at the university due to his secular beliefs. And Sharad finds it increasingly difficult to connect with Hanif, his childhood friend. The only witness remains the unnamed narrator of the novel.

Geetanjali Shree’s shimmering prose takes us into a fever dream of fragmented thoughts and half-finished sentences, mirroring the disjointed reality of a city under siege.