Bombay Summer explores the delicate friendship between three young people and its eventual disintegration in the face of betrayal. Set in contemporary Mumbai, the film subtly mirrors the turmoil within tradition bound Indian society as it struggles to cope with rapid modernization and social change.

At the center of the story is Geeta, a self-assured career woman who seeks out new experiences while deftly balancing the competing demands of work, love and family. Unbeknownst to her conservative family, she is having a forbidden relationship with Jaidev, an aspiring writer who chafes at his privileged background as he struggles to establish his own identity. Their lives take a dramatic turn when they meet Madan, a migrant to the city who ekes out a living as a commercial artist but occasionally resorts to petty crime to make ends meet.

The three become quick friends as Madan shows Geeta and Jaidev a side of India they've never really known-from the studios of Bollywood poster painters, to a crumbling textile mill on the outskirts of the city, to the bleached, worn beauty of the seaside village where Madan spent his childhood. But shortly the bond of friendship begins to crack, as youthful passion and the looming consequences of Madan's criminal lifestyle threaten to engulf them.