Beautiful Dinah Sassoon, daughter of an affluent opium trader and pillar of Calcuttas tight-knit Jewish community, sees her privileged future destroyed when her mother is mysteriously murdered. This tragic event leaves Dinah dishonored and virtually unmarriageable. After being thrust into a loveless marriage that soon disintegrates, she meets the irresistible Edwin Salem, who joins with her in a passionate but tempestuous union between equals. Although Dinah finds fulfillment, she must wrestle with the challengeand the crossof managing the family the growing and selling of opium.