It is ancient India. Perhaps in the more ancient times than the historical antiquity of India. A sage and his wife have no child. There is wisdom and love but not the blessing of a child. The sage meditates on the Divine, Lord Siva, the Bestower of Blessings. The Divine grants him a boon and the sage is confronted with a choice: ...an offspring who shall live long ignorant of the soul, or a son of spiritual wisdom whose years shall be but sixteen... The sage chooses the child of wisdom. Thus is born Markandeya, wise but destined to die at the age of sixteen. But will he?