Periya Samy (Jai Ganesh), called Periya Gounder by the villagers, is the village chief and a wealthy respected man in his village. His daughter Manjula (Gautami), an arrogant girl who studied in the city, comes back to her village during summer vacations. Her cousin Thangamuthu (R. Sarathkumar) is an educated blacksmith and lives with his widow mother (Manorama), he is the future husband of Manjula as per the village custom. But Periya Samy doesn't want to marry a man from a poor family, so he refuses Thangamuthu and Manjula's marriage.

Periya Samy slowly falls in love with the village belle Jillu (Jillu) and she becomes his secret mistress. He even accepts to marry his daughter with his mistress's rowdy brother (Vijayaraj). One day, Manjula insults Thangamuthu and his mother. Then, angry, he ties a mangalsutra around her neck (synonym of marriage). What transpires next forms the rest of the story.