Shambhu (Balraj Sahni) and his wife Parvati (Nirupa Roy) are overjoyed when after 2 years of drought, the rains spell happiness and prosperity for their farming community. Unfortunately, their joy is short-lived, as the landowner demands his land back to build a factory there. The landowner gives Shambhu a notice of 3 months in which to settle his past debts to him, failing which Shambhu's land will be forfeited.

In order to prove a point to the landowner - Shambhu leaves for Calcutta in the hope of making enough money to repay the debt and keep his land. In Calcutta, Shambhu and his family encounter various obstacles and hardships, and he falls ill. He becomes desperate when the time to pay the debt creeps up and then ...