The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden childhood love; and Chandramukhi, a reformed courtesan (tawaif).

The character of Parvati was based on a real life second wife of zamindar Bhuvan Mohan Chowdhury,[2] It was said that the writer had even visited that village.

[3] Devdas is a young man from a wealthy Bengali family in the British Raj in the early 1900s.

The two families live in a village called Taalshonapur in Bengal, and Devdas and Parvati are childhood friends.

Although Devdas's mother loves Parvati very much, she isn't so keen on forming an alliance with the family next door.

An elderly gentleman and zamindar of Hatipota he had found his house and home so empty and lustreless after his wife's death, that he decided to marry again.

In Calcutta, Devdas's carousing friend, Chunni Lal, introduces him to a tawaif (courtesan) named Chandramukhi.

Knowing death approaches him fast, Devdas goes to Hatipota to meet Parvati to fulfill his vow.

On hearing of his death, Parvati runs towards the door, but her family members prevent her from stepping out of the house.

The novella powerfully depicts the customs of society that prevailed in Bengal in the early 1900s, which largely prevented a happy ending to a true and tender love story.