Govindan is a thief who has two sons: Aadhi and Maari. Years go by and the brothers decide to stop stealing, mend their ways, and lead a hardworking life with their father. They migrate to a neighboring village and meet a retired agricultural officer Chidambaram, who is in deep debt and is under pressure from the village's landlord Kalingarayar to clear his debts. In efforts to help Chidambaram, Mathi confronts Seetha Lakshmi, Kalingarayar's daughter, who comes to collect the money Chidambaram owes her father. Seetha Lakshmi starts to acquire a liking for Mathi, but keeps it hidden due to her father's atrocious temper. In an attempt to teach Kalingarayar a lesson, Mathi forcibly ties the mangalsutram around Seetha's neck. Kalingarayar, realizing his daughter's love for Mathi, comes down to arrange a grand remarriage between the two. But things go awry when Manicka Vel, Seetha Lakshmi's maternal uncle, comes to town in an effort to stop the wedding between the two as he has plans of marrying her and wiping her family fortune.