When she was thirteen, Salma's parents took her out of school and married her off. Locked up in her parents-in-law's house, she seeks refuge in poetry. With the help of her parents she smuggles poems out of the house, which find their way to a publisher. Against all expectations, she grows out to become a celebrated Tamil poet and is able to escape her desolate life. Socially conscious films about strong women in a misogynist environment are the trademark of the often awarded British director Kim Longinotto.