Shivali, a woman with a dark secret, is on the run. The year is 1887 in Ishapur, India. Remaining in her village isn't an option. She has followed society's rules-be a silent wife, keep your eyes down, and serve your husband-but that obedience has brought nothing but pain and anguish. When circumstances leave her no other choice, she must escape by taking a harrowing three-month trip across the Kaala Paani to South Africa with her two children. The journey aboard the ship is fraught with danger-drunken men, violence, and lack of food. What will they have to deal with when they reach their new land?
In Port Natal, South Africa, Shivali attempts to build a new life for her family on a sugarcane farm owned by the Thompson family. There, they perform the backbreaking work of indentured laborers. Will they find safety, happiness, or new love? Over time, they forge strong connections, create a new family, and lay the foundations for a community, but will these relationships survive a second family secret that threatens to tear their community apart?