Set in Calcutta in 1969-70, when student unrest was at its height, The Adversary concerns a young medical student, Siddhartha, who is forced to drop out of school and join the ranks of job-hunting graduates. As he discovers that he cannot find even a menial job, he becomes increasingly drawn to a radical solution. Albert Johnson writes, “We are taken into Siddhartha's consciousness and we see the past and present constantly brought before us, noticing all that he notices....”