A photographic record supported by personal accounts by Jarijan outcasts revealing how these 800 million people in India manage their lives in the social grip of an age-old hierarchy of religious origin. In an attempt to unravel the mysteries of this subtle doctrine, Sophie Baker went to live with families of the four main castes and experienced at first hand their impoverishment. She sketches an outline of the Hindu philosophy in which caste is rooted and reveals a moving account of the efffect of the entrenched codes of conduct that holds an entire population in thrall.