Thangam (T. R. Rajakumari) is married to a man old enough to be her father, Rajamanickam Mudaliar (D. Thuraisamy) who has two children from his deceased first wife. The daughter is Lakshmi (S. Padma), and son, Selvam (Sivaji Ganesan). Thangam's husband dies when she is expecting her baby. Selvam falls in love with a rich girl Malathi (Padmini), while a playboy (T. S. Balaiah) does his best to separate them. When Thangam's child is born, ugly rumors are spread by Lakshmi that the father of the child is Selvam and the two had an incestuous relationship. Malathi believes the rumors and starts tormenting Thangam. How the young widow surmounts the problems forms the rest of the story.