- During the turmoil and violence of Partition, a Sikh ex-soldier, haunted by war, offers shelter to a young Muslim woman who has been separated from her family.
- Gian Singh & Avtar Singh are officers with the Indian Army serving under the command of Andrew Stilwell, who lives with his sister, Margaret, in Delhi. During 1941 the trio are dispatched to active duty in Burma where Andrew is killed. Both Gian and Avtar return to their village in Sarsa, Punjab, where Gian lives with his widowed mom, Shanti. During 1947, after 350 years of occupying India, the British decide to leave, but not before separating Islamic Pakistan and secular India. Millions of Muslims crossed from India to Pakistan, while an equal number of Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians crossed over from the other side. A group of Muslims who were crossing over to Pakistan are attacked by a mob of sword wielding horse-riding Sikhs, and Hindus, including Avtar, many are slaughtered, but some do manage to escape. Muslims, in turn, kill all Hindus, Sikhs and Christian passengers on a train en-route to India. While Gian, who refuses to participate in any killing, is picking up wood for his fireplace, he comes a across a young Muslim girl, Naseem Khan, in hiding, and decides to shelter her. He brings her home with him, places a turban over head to make her look like a young Sikh lad, and hides her in a trunk from his mother. But the villagers do find out, while some want to outrightly kill her, others want her to leave. Gian donates some money for the displaced Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan, and asks the villagers to give him some time to locate her family from Pakistan and then send her on her way, to which they agree. Gian seeks the help of Margaret, who does her best to liaise with the Ministry of Unification of Families, but to no avail. In the meantime, Naseem adapts herself to the village life, and soon she and Gian fall in love with each other. Shortly thereafter both get married, and soon Naseem gives birth to a boy, Vijay. Years later, they get a surprise visit from Margaret, who has now located Naseem's family. Naseem's is thrilled, and departs to Kasur in Pakistan to meet her family, who she will be staying with for a month. When she does not return after 3 months, Gian approaches the authorities to travel to Pakistan, but is refused as only Muslims are permitted to cross over. He then converts to Islam, changes his name to Mohammad Hassan, and together with Vijay, obtains necessary documents to travel to Pakistan, but are stopped at the border and asked to bring further proof. Both father and son sneak in through the border fence and find a room in Lahore's Royal Hotel, managed by a Walter Hankins, a friend of Margaret. Gian goes to Kasur, finds Naseem's house - and it is here that he gets severely beaten up by Naseem's brothers, Abdul and Akbar, who, along with their mother, have been holding Naseem against her will in their house. The reason: Naseem's father was killed by a Sikh, and they refuse to permit her to leave the house and return to her family. What can Gian do under these circumstances, especially with his illegal entry into Pakistan, and also with sentiments still running high against Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
- Determined to leave the ravages of war behind, 38 year old Gian Singh resigns from the British Indian Army to a quiet life. His world is soon thrown in turmoil, when he suddenly finds himself responsible for the life of a 17 year old girl, traumatized by the events that separated her from her family. Slowly, resisting all the taboos, Gian finds himself falling in love with the vulnerable Naseem and she shyly responds. In a moving and epic story, woven into a rich and exotic tapestry, they battle the forces that haunt their innocent love, fighting the odds to survive in a world surrounded by hate.—T.Pehme
- Gian Singh (Jimi Mistry) is a Sikh who goes off to war in the British Indian Army with his two best friends Andrew and Avtar. The three are being seen off by Andrew's sister Margaret and Walter. Gian promises to look after Andrew only to resign after Andrew is killed. Gian is tortured by the guilt of not being able to save Andrew. The young Muslim woman Naseem (Kristin Kreuk) is separated from her family in riots and unaware that her father has been killed, hides in hope that the Sikh mobs won't find her.
Gian finds Naseem in the woods, having just returned to his home town near the Pakistani border. Their efforts to hide are foiled; Naseem and Gian are forced to bargain for Naseem's life with money. The townspeople, although initially resenting her presence, begin to accept Naseem, and it seems that the bad parts of their lives have faded away until night when both Naseem and Gyan suffer from tortured visions of their past. These visions ultimately unite the two and they get married and have a son they call Vijay.
In love, the world seems perfect until Margaret shows up on Gian's doorstep with news that Naseem's family has been found in Pakistan. Naseem leaves to see them in Pakistan. She is to return in a month but does not arrive. Her two brothers, discovering her marriage to a Sikh, lock her up in her room and forbid her to ever return to India. Akbar, the eldest, is particularly stubborn, and vows to keep her away from her husband at all costs. Gian, tired of waiting, sets off on a trip to Pakistan to retrieve Naseem. He disguises himself as a Muslim, cutting off his hair and donning a Kofi. Even with the disguise he has to sneak across the border as his papers are not sufficient.
Gian meets with Walter and Margaret, who barely recognize him without his turban, and leaves Vijay with them while he goes to get Naseem. When he arrives, still dressed as a Muslim, Naseem immediately recognizes him. As they run toward one another they are stopped by her brothers and Akbar beats Gian. To explain himself to his neighbors he tells them that Gian is a Sikh. Meanwhile Naseem has been locked up by her brother Zakir. Gian is hauled to jail and there he wallows in the darkness, refusing to return to India until he remembers that he has a son who needs him.
Naseem's mother, realizing that the couple are truly in love, frees Naseem, who runs to the train. She recognizes Vijay immediately and hugs him, unaware that Gian is just on the other side of the tracks. When he calls her name, they begin to fight through the crowd to reach one another. Just as they meet Akbar pulls them apart and begins a struggle with Gian. Gian is pushed over the railing onto the tracks just as the train arrives and is killed. Naseem sobs hysterically as she slowly collapses to the ground. Naseem and Vijay escape on the train as the police arrive for Akbar. With the help of Margaret and Walter they move to England and Avtar spreads Gian's ashes given by Walter over a banyan tree.
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