Annu Abhirami, 18, is a shy, straight-A senior at a small-town Indian government school.

The eldest of three sisters, she has caramel skin, almond eyes, and a tight braid, wearing a faded white salwar kameez. Dreaming of a medical scholarship, she’s naive but curious. Caught in a scandal after her boyfriend’s pressure, she nervously twists her braid, desperate to protect her family’s honor.