The following edition of the text was used in the creation of this study guide: Roy, Nilanjana. Black River. Pushkin Press, 2023. Kindle AZW file.

In Part One, in the village of Teetarpur, India, Munia lives with her father, Chand, in a hut next to Chand’s brother Balle Ram and their wealthy neighbor, Jolly Singh. On Munia’s eighth birthday, while Chand is in the fields, Munia witnesses a man strangle a woman. The man later kills Munia by hanging her from a tree. Chand returns to find Munia dead and a disturbed man named Mansoor crying beneath the tree. Mansoor denies killing her.

Police chief Ombir learns of the murder from photographer Dilshad, who says Mansoor has been caught. Ombir finds an angry mob outside Chand’s home demanding vigilante justice. He convinces Balle Ram to give him two weeks to investigate and brings Mansoor to the station. Ombir questions suspects including Narinder, a criminal with a grudge against Chand, and Dharam Bir, a factory foreman suspected of an earlier sexual assault. Later, Ombir and his deputy Bhim Sain find a dead prostitute near Chand’s home. Bhim Sain moves the body out of their jurisdiction, and they choose not to report it. Pilania, an officer from Delhi, arrives to supervise the case. He and Ombir agree Mansoor is likely innocent.

In Part Two, taking place many years earlier, Chand leaves Teetarpur as a teenager for Delhi and finds work at a construction site, later taking a job cleaning at a butcher shop owned by Badshah Miyan. He impresses his employer and becomes a butcher’s apprentice. Chand shares a room with Khalid, whose wife Rabia later joins them after their boarding house is demolished. The three begin living in makeshift huts along the Yamuna river, enduring poverty and periodic police raids. Rabia becomes pregnant, and after Khalid abandons her late in the pregnancy, Chand helps her take care of the baby, Arshad. Chand quietly protects them at night and remains involved in Arshad’s life even after Khalid returns. Amid rising anti-Muslim violence, Khalid becomes fearful. Chand is tricked into returning to Teetarpur to marry Bihida but soon goes back to Delhi without her.

Years pass; Badshah Miyan’s son modernizes the butcher shop, which Chand dislikes. Rabia buys land in Bright Dairy to build a permanent home, but Khalid resists change. After another police raid, Khalid vanishes, and Chand finds his empty boat, assuming he is dead. Following Khalid’s death, Rabia and Chand grow distant. Rabia moves with Arshad, and Chand eventually returns to Teetarpur for good. Later, he visits Delhi with Bihida, who snubs Rabia due to religious prejudice. Bihida later dies during childbirth. Chand is left to raise their daughter, Munia, alone.

Part Three returns to Teetarpur in 2017. Chand, Ombir, and Bhim Sain visit Jolly Singh’s villa, where they meet with Jolly and Delhi officer Pilania to discuss the murder of Chand’s daughter Munia. Pilania doubts the guilt of the main suspect, Mansoor, due to his disabilities. Chand’s old friends, Badshah Miyan and Rabia, arrive to support him. When media harassment becomes overwhelming, Jolly fires a gun in the air to drive reporters away.

As the investigation unfolds, a known child abuser, Dharam Bir, is cleared by a shaky alibi. Village women demand Mansoor be handed over, believing the legal system won’t deliver justice. Jolly orchestrates a staged interrogation of Mansoor, who, traumatized and confused, says something that Jolly and Balle Ram take as a confession. Jolly later pressures Ombir to quietly allow Mansoor to be taken from jail. That night, Chand, Balle Ram, and Dilshad abduct Mansoor. When Chand realizes Mansoor is too injured to have committed the crime, he sends the others away.

The next day, Ombir and Pilania inspect the well where Mansoor’s body was supposedly found. Ombir lies, claiming Mansoor committed suicide, though Pilania clearly doubts the story. Despite suspicions, Pilania agrees to sign off on the case, citing political pressure and Jolly’s influence. Later, at a party at Jolly’s, Ombir observes Dharam Bir interacting with a dancer and suspects him again. Ombir returns to the well and confirms there is no body. He decides to keep investigating Munia’s murder unofficially. Meanwhile, tensions rise as anti-Muslim sentiment grows in the village. Ombir orders a sign banning Muslims to be removed.

In Part Four, Rabia and Badshah Miyan return to Delhi after Munia’s funeral, disturbed by rising anti-Muslim sentiment. Rabia recalls her son Arshad’s wedding, which was overshadowed by Hindu nationalist provocation. Badshah urges Rabia to consider leaving India, but she resists.

Ombir visits dancer Chunchun and finds a ledger once owned by Bachni, the murdered woman from the canal. The ledger reveals Bachni blackmailed powerful men and trafficked children. Ombir suspects Dharam Bir’s involvement but is met with vague answers. Later, Ombir and Bhim Sain receive a Harley-Davidson from Jolly Singh, which Ombir reluctantly accepts. Chand tells Ombir that he realized Mansoor couldn’t have killed Munia due to his injuries and secretly let him go. Ombir asks Chand to leave the investigation to him. Later, Rabia and Chand reconnect over the phone, and the narrative recalls their brief romantic past.

Back at the station, Bhim Sain is enraged by the evidence against Dharam Bir in Bachni’s ledger. Though they cannot reopen the case, Ombir and Bhim Sain violently confront Dharam Bir, leaving him hospitalized. Bhim Sain justifies the attack as the only justice possible. The next day, Jolly’s employee Bhadana warns Ombir that Dharam Bir is tied to powerful business interests and they must apologize and not interfere again. He offers Ombir a bribe and hints at a promotion. Ombir interrogates Dharam Bir, who denies killing Bachni or Munia. Later, Jolly drunkenly visits Chand, claims he doesn’t believe Mansoor was guilty, and offers to buy Chand’s land. He promises to bring Dharam Bir to justice if given a week and urges Chand not to take matters into his own hands.

In Part Five, Ombir and Bhim Sain apologize to Jolly for attacking Dharam Bir. Later, they investigate Bachni’s murder and find her body near the canal, suspecting her killer is a neighbor of Chand. They learn Dharam Bir died in the hospital due to a supposed power outage interfering with his oxygen supply. Ombir tricks Chunchun into confessing she was paid to tamper with Dharam Bir’s oxygen, but lets her go.

Rabia feels unsafe in Bright Dairy and agrees to sell her house, though she secretly plans to stay. Chand invites her to move to the Himalayas with him and gives her a suitcase, asking her not to open it yet.

At a party, Jolly drunkenly shoots fish in his koi pond. Chand finalizes the sale of his land to Jolly. Later, Ombir realizes Jolly’s house is closer to Chand’s than expected, and Jolly apologizes cryptically to Chand but it is unclear what he is apologizing for.

Chand secretly sets a trap for Jolly, who confesses to killing Bachni and Munia. After a violent struggle, Chand kills Jolly and stages the scene as a business deal that turned violent. Chand sets off for the mountains and scatters Munia’s ashes.