The Drummer and the Keeper

The story of a 20-year marriage, from the days preceding the wedding, up to the time of the divorce that ended it.

A nymphomaniac recounts her memories of taboo sex.

Each citizen of Jotuomba plays an integral role in village life. Madalena is responsible for baking bread; each morning she stacks her rolls as Antonio prepares the coffee. The two share a morning ritual of arguments and insults, followed by an amicable cup of coffee on the bench outside Antonio's shop. At midday the church bells ring, summoning the villagers to mass. In the early evening, they all share a meal together. And so life proceeds in Jotuomba, the days languidly drifting into one another. The only variations seem to be in the weather. One day Rita arrives looking for a place to stay. She came upon the village while traveling through the valley, following the unused railroad tracks. She is a photographer, intent on capturing the village's special allure. Initially reticent, the townsfolk gradually open up to her, sharing their stories and allowing themselves to be photographed. Rita is comfortable with technologies old and new, and Madalena teaches her to knead dough by the light of an oil lamp. Only the village priest continues to find Rita's presence worrisome, especially when she begins asking about the locked cemetery.

Maharaj Chatrapal Singh and his wife the Maharani are delighted when they become proud parents of a son - the heir to the thrown of Ramgad. Their delight is short-lived when the Palace Astrologer predicts that Chatrapal will be the last of the Maharajas for Ramgad, and no throne is destined for his son, Raju. Perturbed at this news, Chatrapal decides to protect Raju from the world, and makes him lead a secluded life within the four walls of the palace and it's surrounding grounds. Years later, Raju has grown up and his has arranged his marriage with a young woman of noble parentage. Raju is unhappy with this decision, and decides to run away with his bodyguard, Gulshan. They end up in Bombay city, where Raju starts to work as a waiter in a restaurant. He meets with and falls in love with a dancer and singer, Anita Sethi, who is the daughter of a wealthy man. Her father would like her to marry Jimmy Narang, son of the wealthy Mr. Narang, but Anita too falls in love with Raju. When JImmy finds out that Raju is a heir-apparent to Ramgad's throne, he tells Anita, who is angry with Raju for suppressing this information from her. Narang also informs Chatrapal, who sets off with an army, to bring Raju back to marry the woman he has chosen for him. Raju now has to make a choice - stay and be captured by his father's men; or run away elsewhere.

After the sudden death of her older sister, a successful singer-songwriter finds herself facing their family's darkest memories as she fights to win custody over her adolescent niece from the girl's lawful but long-absent father.