该剧改编自格里高利·大卫·罗伯茨2003年的同名畅销小说，讲述银行抢匪Lin Ford（查理·汉纳姆 饰）自澳洲越狱后逃往印度孟买，一场救赎之旅就此开启。
Shantaram在印地语代表“和平之人”。
A heroin addict incarcerated for a robbery escapes prison and reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of Bombay; his ties to the crime underworld there lead him to Afghanistan, where he partners with a mob boss locked in a battle with Russian criminals.
—Anonymous
Lindsay arrives in Mumbai after escaping from an Australian prison where he was serving a 19-year sentence for armed robberies that had fed his drug habit. In Mumbai, he meets Prabhakar who takes him to his native village where the locals name him Shantaram and teach him Marathi. Lindsay relaunches his criminal career as Shantaram in the city's notorious underworld.
—Abzee
Shantaram is a semi-autobiographical story about an Australian heroin addict who escapes from prison and arrives in Bombay (Mumbai) with a fake passport. He assumes a new name, Lindsay There he meets Prabaker, a happy-go-lucky taxi driver. After he is robbed of all his money he moves from a hotel to the slums where Prabaker lives. In the slums he finds peace by opening a free-clinic. In search of more medicine he comes across a Mumbia Don (mafia boss) who helps Lindsay with his clinic and recruits him as a money launderer and passport foregoer. Lindsay falls in love with India while finding love, redemption, a purpose and heartbreak. He spends time in slums, company of mafia bosses, drug dens and in a tiny Indian village where he gains the name Shantaram.
—DEEP
The plot deals with the story of an Australian convict Lindsay who escapes from prison Down Under and goes to India. In India he lives in the slums of Mumbai where he gets involved with the underworld and pretends to be a doctor. The story deals with the transition that Lindsay goes through, from Australia to India and ultimately ending up fighting alongside the insurgents in Afghanistan against Russia.
—Rohan Pawar
Shantaram is the story of an Australian character named Lindsay (Lin). Sentenced to a long, harsh prison term after his personal life spirals out of control, he escapes and makes his way to Bombay (Mumbai). Befriended by a curious character named Prabaker, by a twist of fate Lin ends up living in Prabaker's slum. Lin immerses himself in the colourful life of Mumbai and his friends from the slum, battling fires, monsoons and ultimately setting up a free medical clinic in an attemtp to make up for past transgressions. Eventually, Khader Khan, a Mumbai mafia chief takes Lin under his wing. In Lin's mind Khader takes on the role of loving father Lin never had. Their association leads Lin from Love to wretched prison life, freedom to gun running in Afghanistan and to realizations of treachery ultimately his own inner salvation.
—MichaelGTheOne
