Borei Gowda is a splendidly grumpy, hard-drinking cop, an Indian Rebus with a complicated love life. When Professor Mudgood is found dead in his decaying Bangalore house, it is considered a natural death; after all, he was 82 years old, but Gowda isn't so sure. All the evidence points to a political murder since the professor was a fervent critic of right-wing forces in India. But as Gowda launches a parallel investigation, he stumbles upon a secret and murky world where there are no rules or mercy. When Gowda's hand is forced, he takes a calculated risk and infiltrates the sinister domain to bring the truth out into the open. Will he succeed? And at what price?