Shiro, the daughter of a native tea-maker, cares nothing for the class distinctions of tea plantation life. She dreams of a future as a missionary doctor and wants nothing more than to play with her best friend, Lakshmi, even though Lakshmi is a coolie labourer. Into their world come Anthony Ashley Cooper and his brother William, heirs to the tea plantations in Sri Lanka. From childhood, the boys were taught to scorn Sri-Lankan natives and see labourers...