Noyabr, 1921 god. Edvard VIII, prints Uelskiy i buduschiy pravitel Indii, pribyvaet v Bombey. Indiyskiy subkontinent stonet pod britanskim pravleniem, i Pervin Mistri ne udivlyaetsya, kogda mestnye volneniya pererastayut v bunty. No eyo potryasaet smert Freni Kattingmaster, vosemnadtsatiletney parsiyskoy studentki, kotoraya padaet s galerei vtorogo etazha v tot moment, kogda grandioznaya protsessiya printsa prohodit mimo eyo kolledzha. Kogda smert Freni priznayotsya ubiystvom, Pervin reshaet, chto ne uspokoitsya, poka ne dobetsya spravedlivosti. No Bombey kipit: po ulitsam marshiruyut vooruzhennye agenty britanskih sluzhb, buntovschiki napadayut na vseh, kto imeet hot kakoe-to otnoshenie k britantsam, a otchayavshiesya vladeltsy magazinov unichtozhayut svoi tovary, chtoby ne stat tselyami rasovoy nenavisti. Smozhet li Pervin pomoch stradayuschey seme, kogda eyo sobstvennaya nahoditsya v opasnosti?