When Smita and Mohan visit Meena for the first time, Meeena describes the animosity in her relationship with her brothers Govind and Arvind. Mohan uses his privilege as an educated man to aid Smita’s journalistic endeavors by pretending to be her husband and invoking his high caste standing. He is annoyed by Smita’s constant criticism of India and defends his homeland vehemently. Mohan, Shannon’s friend, volunteers to accompany Smita to the rural village Birwad so she does not have to travel alone. She agrees to stay and help her friend, Shannon, by interviewing Meena and attending the verdict hearing. Smita is hesitant to visit India after avoiding the country of her childhood for twenty years. Smita’s narrative is interjected with Meena’s first-person narrative as she talks about her life with Abdul and her struggle to fight the violent system of female oppression that led to the attack against her. Honor follows the story of Smita, told from a third-person limited point of view, as she returns to India to write a newspaper article on Meena, a woman who was assaulted by her brothers for marrying a Muslim man and subsequently filed a lawsuit against them.

While Thirty Umrigar’s novel, Honor, is written in past and present tense, the guide predominantly relies on the present tense.

The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Umrigar, Thirty.

Synopsis of honor thrity umrigar