London, Christmas 1914

Eighteen-year-old Carrie Dobbs has a secret. When her parents discover what she's so desperately trying to hide, Carrie's mother, Florrie takes matters into her own hands and arranges a marriage with Arnold Bateman to get Carrie out of Whitechapel and away from the gossips. He is a man Carrie could never love, the opposite of Johan, the young man she adores. Arnold has been posted to India and expects her to go with him and be the wife he needs to further his promotion and position in the army. India is a country she only knows from an atlas and she is terrified she will never see her family and her beloved best friend, Pearl again.

Feeling she has no choice, she travels to India with a heavy heart, wondering if she will ever return to the place she calls home. India is a mystery to her, but this strange and vibrant country gets under her skin, and when someone she admires from afar is kind to her, Carrie wonders if she will find love again.