In 1999, the sudden death of her father Hassan sends queer Muslim grad student Azra flying back to her ancestral home in Pakistan, where her stern mother Mariam demands she play the role of the perfect grieving daughter. But through flashbacks to Mariam's own life in Karachi 30 years before, we see the connections uniting mother and daughter, starting with their shared love of the Bollywood star Sharmila Tagore.