In a remote village of South India a boy is born with a neurological disorder that leaves him retarded. Trying to find his destiny in the midst of despair, he stumbles upon the story of Mr Rao who is a celebrated hero of the village. He tries to emulate the late Mr Rao and in his endeavour succeeds in developing a rare imagination and a knack of storytelling, just like that of the great Mr. Rao. He graduates from a village bumpkin to a sensitive storyteller, astonishing everyone that he meets. The Storyteller in fact unveils for the reader, the heart of the proverbial 'fool' that ancient texts often refer to as a being who is the true repository of wisdom.