In 1829 Viceroy Bentinick bans the social evil of sati in India, however, the practice is continued without any check. In Bengal a very ill, elderly man, on his deathbed, Shankarnarayan, is prepared to be taken to the crematorium. After the procession reachs the crematorium grounds, they find that he still has life left in him. The priest presiding decides to favor a friend, an...