Manju (Nargis) lives in the village with her father, a school teacher, and step-mother. Mohan (Dilip Kumar) and Manju are friends since childhood. The friendship develops into love and they are both excited about their wedding. Mohan decides to go into town to buy jewelry for the marriage. On the way he is robbed and beaten unconscious, landing him in the hospital.

Mehkoo (Jeevan), is a no-good man, retired from the army, who lusts after one of the young village girls. He is influential with Manju's stepmother and, with her by his side, calls the village panchayat. Here, he denounces Mohan as a cad who has run away with a girl, telling them that he won't return for the marriage. Since the wedding day has been fixed, the panchayat agrees with Mehkoo that Manju should get married on the day decided. It finds a supposedly suitable groom for Manju, but he turns out to be a seventy-year-old, sickly man. When he enters the wedding chamber, he agrees that Manju is too young to be his bride. Remorseful, he asks for forgiveness, but pleads with her to care of his children. Manju takes on the role of the old man's wife. The man dies, with Manju now left a young widow in charge of the children.

One night in stormy weather, she goes out to meet Mohan, and dies when she falls off a cliff. Mehkoo and other villagers arrive to convict Mohan of murdering Manju. Mohan says nothing in his defense and is sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. On release from jail, Mohan goes to the same place where Manju had died. He sees her spirit, who beckons him to follow her. As he does, he falls off the cliff edge and dies.