The Buddhist town of Sariput, in a Central Asian desert, is struck by a fierce sand storm sometime in the first century BC. When the storm is over, the town has disappeared, except for part of a Buddhist monastery, two Buddhist monks and two little children-a boy and a girl whom they stumble upon in the wilderness and decide to raise them. The monks are Pitthumitta, the older, compassionate one, and Uchanda, younger and harsh. They name the boy Nirvana, the girl, Iti, and start again with their austere lives. Twenty years later, the monastery is humming again, the two monks are still devoted to the pursuit of truth and happiness, and Nirvana and Iti have grown into two full-blooded, young-people. Respectful of the monastic life, Nirvana and Iti are still vulnerable to the passions to feel guilty and Uchanda has cause to feel furious, a hidden cause over which he vainly struggles to have control. Through Uchanda, false-hood and deceit enter the monastery. It is time for another devastating and storm.