Unable to bear the brutality and repeated rapes by her alcoholic husband, Kiran Ahluwalia a Punjabi housewife and mother of two in London, sets him on fire and kills him. Charged with first-degree murder, she is sentenced to life imprisonment, where she befriends her cellmate. Moved by her story the cellmate asks her step-brother, a highly respected queen's counsel to file her appeal. Her case comes to the notice of a group of south Asian social workers. They bring her plight to the attention of the media by organizing rallies to gather public support for her freedom. She is ultimately freed by the judicial system.