Tushar's novel takes place in Calcutta, India, and tells the story of an Arab sailor who drowns in the Bay of Bengal and loses his memory. He is rescued by an Indian pirate and fishing ship, and does not remember his name or which country he came from.

They call him Tushar, which in Arabic means "Tashar" in the colloquial dialect, and in Hindi it means the beginning or the flow of the raging sea. Those on the ship believed that the god Matsya, the first god to be incarnated as a fish, had sent him to take revenge for their actions, so they treated him harshly. He works with them day and night without pay, inhaling the flower without knowing it is a narcotic, and struggling with his memories.