The Friendless God is a novel set in modern India, and tracks the lives of three individuals, one of whom loves, the second battles, and the third makes use of, Lord Rama. Kodanda is fascinated by Lord Rama but is unable to worship him because he faces resistance from his strong-willed mother Vaidehi and for street-smart orphan Raman, Lord Rama is another tool to move ahead in life. The novel traces the lives of these three, and their different equations with Lord Rāma. Its denouement happens on the day millions converged in Ayodhya to claim the land they considered the birthplace of Rāma.