“‘From now on, you are in charge of the lake and the fish.’

‘Fisherman Thankachan, the entire lake is yours,’ Ouseph shouted.

Thankachan took the oar and rowed away, looking behind as they waved to him. He felt afraid to row the boat but then he saw someone sitting in front with his face turned away from him.

‘Who are you?’

The figure did not respond. Thankachan repeated his question.

‘I am the one who gave you life and saved you from death.’

Thankachan felt frightened.

‘This is your second life. Give meaning to it,’ the person said and vanished.”

Delirious and injured after a boat accident, Thankachan recovers to find that life has become grimmer.

Shy and reticent, with a spiritual bent of mind, Thankachan, a young man in his early twenties living on Fathima Island, situated in the Ashtamudi Lake, is disappointed with the way his life has turned out. Having failed in the seminary exams, he seeks to be a graduate, studying English. But when he fails those exams too, he is forced by his family to assist his elder brother Mathappan in fishing. Lurking menacingly in the background of the lives of these fishers, like a predatory shark, is a twin murder committed on Joseph Island a few years ago,...

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