Like most of his works, the events of this novel take place in Malgudi, a fictional town in South India.

After completing his sentence, Raju passes through a village called Mangal, where he is mistaken for a sadhu (a spiritual guide).

To avoid returning to Malgudi in disgrace, he decides to stay in an abandoned temple near Mangal.

There, he takes on the role of a sadhu, delivering sermons and solving the villagers' daily problems and disputes.

Raju decides to confess his entire past to Velan, who had initially discovered him in the temple and had unwavering faith in him like the rest of the villagers.

It starred Dev Anand as Raju, Waheeda Rehman as Rosie, and Leela Chitnis in the lead roles.

A 120-minute U.S. version was written by Pearl S. Buck, and directed and produced by Tad Danielewski.