Summary
The novel starts in Malgudi, India, a fictional city where Narayan set most of his work. It tells the story of Raman, a sign painter. Raman takes great care with his work and tries to paint the best-quality signs for his customers. At the beginning of the story, Raman quarrels with a lawyer about the price of one of his signs and the style in which he wants it painted. He then returns home and spends time with his aunt. She lives with him and is regarded as very wise by the people of Malgudi.
Raman finds his aunt's fixation on myths and folktales annoying. He routinely cycles through feelings of irritation and guilt, as he doesn't enjoy spending time with her but is constantly aware of all of the things she does for him. Raman rejects traditional values and refuses to adopt various customs, including refraining from eating meat. One day, Raman is hired by a woman named Daisy to paint a sign for her office.
Raman learns that she is raising awareness about the issue of family planning. She believes that overpopulation is causing great harm to India and putting a strain on its natural resources, infrastructure, and social programs. Raman finds her extremely interesting and attractive. After meeting with her, he is overwhelmed by a desire to see her and drops by her house unannounced. They have a brief, awkward conversation and Raman returns home. Subsequently, Raman learns that Daisy is planning to undertake a trip across India to educate people about birth control. She offers him a job painting more signs and he leaps at the opportunity to go with her.
They spend three weeks traveling to villages all over the country. Raman comes to recognize that Daisy has many sides and is actually very warm beneath her tough exterior. During their travels, she tells him a little bit about her personal history while also talking passionately about the importance of family planning and the dangers of overpopulation. In one village, Daisy gets into a heated argument with a local priest. He claims to be using prayer to help barren women become fertile and she expresses disgust. They prepare to leave and the man suddenly says that he knows Daisy ran away from home. Daisy says nothing to Raman, but seems unsettled by this comment.
Raman returns to the priest later and asks for more information about Daisy's life. The priest says that it would be improper for him to reveal anything further about Daisy, since she is not Raman's wife. The next day, they depart the village in an ox-drawn cart and talk for a while. Eventually, the ox suffers an injury and the driver is forced to stop. The driver goes to a nearby village to seek out veterinary assistance. Daisy and Raman talk but grow nervous about being alone together. Eventually they fall asleep. Raman tries to put his arms around Daisy while she sleeps but she pushes him away. Later in the night, he looks for her and discovers that she is gone.
The following morning, he asks where she went and she says she saw a tiger and spent the night sleeping in a tree. Raman jokingly compares Daisy to Queen Victoria. She becomes irritated with him and says she will find some other way to get home. She demands that the driver stop the cart. Mistaking Raman and Daisy for a married couple, the driver says that spats like these are common in the early days of a marriage. Daisy says brusquely that they are not married. Partially in jest, Raman insists that they are married. Daisy becomes enraged and by the end of the ride threatens to go to the police.
They encounter each other later in Malgudi. Daisy treats Raman warmly, to his great relief. He goes to her house and confesses his romantic feelings for her. She initially tries to deny her feelings for him but cannot do so. They decide to enter into a relationship. Daisy later reveals to Raman that she did in fact run away from her family after she realized they were going to marry her off to any man they wanted to. Raman and Daisy decide to get married in the simplest fashion.
Problems between them begin to crop up immediately, as Daisy repeatedly states that she does not want their relationship to get in the way of her work. At the same time, Raman's aunt expresses concern about how Daisy will care for Raman, as she has been silently carrying the burden of the housework for many years. Raman is actually shocked to learn how much goes into making meals each day and keeping the house in good order. Raman's aunt asks him to book a one-way trip to Benaras for her, hoping to avoid seeing how his marriage plays out.
Things deteriorate further when Daisy is supposed to move in with Raman. On the day she is scheduled to do so, she tells him she is having second thoughts about their union. She says married life is ultimately not for her and despite how much she loves Raman, she doesn't want her work to become secondary. She decides to leave on a three-year campaign for family planning. Distraught, Raman tries to talk her into staying and eventually says that his home will always be open to her upon her return.
