In a draught-stricken land marred by ethnic conflict, the sons of the rural poor are dying in a bitter civil war. However, Wannihami, the blind old man, knows that rain will come soon. On the Buddhist holiday of the full moon, the body of Bandara, Wannihami's soldier son, is brought home in a sealed coffin. The rains fall on the day Bandara is buried. But Wannihami refuses to sign the papers which entitles the family to Government compensation. Despite pressure from his desperate community, Wannihami still retains clarity of vision which transcends his blindness. He decides to dig up his son's sealed coffin, even though he knows it will invalidate the compensation claim. His greater purpose is to believe that the war cannot kill his son.