In a dingy shack in the less-than-desirable Indian neighbourhoods he calls home, twelve-year-old Anand is entrusted witth a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home mary hundreds of miles away in the Himalayas. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources named Abhaydatta. His quest takes him farther from home than he's ever been and teaches him more than he ever imagined - and forces him to make a poignant decision that changes him forever.