Circa 1960s Lucknow-based author Zafar Ali Naqvi, who has issues with his father and his four wives, including the 4th one who lusts after him, re-locates to Bombay, starts writing for movies, and falls in love with starlet Nikhat Sheikh. Both decide to get married but cancel the plans at the last minute after she finds out that her mother and her live-in boyfriend, Michael, have gambled all her savings. Zafar leaves, leaving Nikhat on a bumpy road to self-destruction.: