Calcutta, 1979. 

In a sprawling mansion on Short Street, a fire breaks out on the second floor just before dawn. By the time the flames are doused, two charred bodies are discovered, and nothing about the scene quite adds up. 

Asha, working with the Calcutta Police since two years now, is brought in early. She notices what others miss. She does not ask questions or demand answers; instead, she observes, remembers and follows what lingers. 

Soon after, Inspector Deep Das of Lalbazar’s Detective Department takes charge. A weary but methodical policeman, he begins reconstructing the events leading up to the deaths, navigating privilege, silence and deception in a city where power often bulldozes justice. 

Within a closed circle of suspects, one person disappears and another dies under suspicious circumstances. The inhabitants of the mansion—the Roys—are well-heeled, and resolutely uncooperative. As Deep pieces together motive and opportunity, Asha follows the scents others overlook, uncovering truths no one wants unearthed—whether theft, arson or murder!