Fourteen-year-old best friends Anna and Ira live in the sleepy town of Shimla and are intrigued by an old abandoned bungalow near their house. Legend has it that a woman, Maya Devi, lived in the bungalow and hadn't stepped out for 20 years. When she had been of marriageable age and had many suitors, no man had agreed to marry her, making her bitter, angry, and retreat from the world.
Anna and Ira decide to write fake love letters to Maya Devi, pretending to be one of the suitors she met 20 years ago, who still was in love with her. Maya Devi is transformed by the letters and decides to sell everything and move to Delhi to meet her suitor. A horrified Anna wants to confess the truth to Maya Devi, but Ira refuses. She then decides to confess by herself but ultimately chickens out.
Overwhelmed with guilt after Maya Devi leaves for Delhi, she confesses to her parents, who decide to send Anna away to boarding school, away from Ira, who Anna refuses to speak to again. Seven years later, Anna, now a 21-year-old college student in Delhi, is still haunted by her past actions and is in search of Maya Devi. Ira forcefully joins Anna in this search, even though they are no longer on good terms. The girls decide to go look for her in Delhi one last time. What they discover completely blows their mind.