Santhanam's younger brother (L. I. C. Narasimhan) graduates and gets a good job. Santhanam believes that his brother will help improving their family condition. But he doesn't help out Santhanam financially and becomes selfish purchasing expensive dresses and a watch only for him. He says that Santhanam's money problems were brought onto himself. Santhanam and his brother get into quarrel and his brother leaves the home and marries his friend. Santhanam's situation gets worse with his friend Cho losing his job and his boss falling ill. The printing press is now managed by the son of his ex-boss who does not like Santhanam as he has borrowed so much money from his father. Santhanam's new boss ask him to repay the money he owed to his father or else resign his job. Santhanam loses his job and he half-heartedly attempts to get help from his well-off siblings and fails. Unable to pay rent, he, his wife and child move to a slum. Santhanam gets a job as a proof reader, his wife earns some money doing some sewing and they have another child. Santhanam develops an interest to write and completes his first novel. His friend Cho, who has also recovered, publishes it. On the day that the book is available, Santhanam's wife leaves her kids at home to go to the market. In her absence, a fire occurs in the slum area. She rushes back to save her children and is badly burnt in the fire. She dies and Santhanam gets a sum of money from an insurance policy that she had secretly taken up. His friend suggests that they produce their own newspaper and this goes well. Santhanam becomes a popular novelist, winning a writer's award and he becomes rich. His siblings also unite with him considering that he is a celebrity now other than being very rich.