It is the late 1990s, a few years into constitutional democracy in Nepal, and the government has collapsed. In Khaireni Tar, a small town on the Kathmandu-Pokhara highway, four separate lives come together during the campaign for fresh elections: Rishi Parajuli, a disillusioned communist who gives private tuitions in history; Giridhar Adhikari, an alcoholic who is the chairman of the People’s Party’s district committee; Om Gurung, a large-hearted former British Gurkha; and Binita Dahal, a reclusive young widow who runs a tea stall near the town’s only bus stop. As the elections approach and the crises in their lives mount, they must choose not only for their country, but also for their own individual futures.