the film starts with vikraman (adoor bhasi) returning home from madras after completing his studies. on reaching his tharavad he understands that his elder brother (kottarakara) moved out of their house after marrying a young woman and is now under the control of his mother-in-law. he is also controlling all the wealth of the tharavad, leaving their sister (aranmula ponnamma), who is a widow, and her three daughters in poverty. vikraman went and asked his brother for money, but he refused to give them any money. vikraman filed a court case for share in the property. vikraman is married and his wife (jayabharathi) and his young son are at his wife's house. he went to visit them. meanwhile, his wife and child were attacked by a dacoit. in the resultant struggle, she was pushed from the attic by the dacoit and the child was abducted for the gold he was wearing. she died in vikraman's arms who reached there that time. he got a broken piece of a tiger's claw belonging to the dacoit as evidence, which broke during the struggle. soon vikraman came to know that he is affected with tuberculosis and left home, carrying his gun, in order to save his sister and her daughters from the disease. he felt unconscious in the forest and was saved by the tribals. his disease was cured by them using their traditional ayurvedic medicines. on regaining health, vikraman kills an elephant which was troubling the tribal men. to save the tribals from the forest officials, vikraman left them and entered deep jungle. there he was caught by the dacoits, and from the broken tiger's claw in the pendant of a dacoit, vikraman recognised the one who killed his wife and abducted his child. he was taken before the chief of the dacoits with whom vikraman's child was safe. vikraman told him all that happened in his life and how his men ruined his life. the chief ordered his trusted lieutenant to investigate whether vikraman is telling the truth. based on the investigation, the chief realised that his gang member actually is responsible for the death of vikraman's wife and expelled him from the gang. but, since vikraman is aware of their hideout, he didn't let vikraman return with his child. instead he asked him to join their gang and prove that he is trustworthy so that he can release his child. vikraman accepted the offer and joined the gang.