Returning from service in the Crimea, Yorkshireman Tom Moffat, renews his acquaintance with the Lonsdale family of Ainley Hall and Colonel Arthur Stillwell of the Richmondshire Rifles. With their help, he secures employment as a railway engineer on the Great India Peninsular Railway. During his time in India, native troops mutiny and Indian princelings revolt against British rule. Major Henry Saunders, stationed in Poona, finds himself at the center of a plot to destroy the Pona-Bombay rail link under construction and calls on Tom for his special skills. With support from Major Saunders and Colonel Stillwell, Tom's attachment to the military lends to active service in an attack on the mutineers' fortress of Pratapgad and the campaign against the Rani of Jhansi. While Tom is neck deep in military operations, the heretofore unattainable Amelia Lonsdale back in England finds herself bereft by tragedies that draw her to the memory of the gallant young man who accompanied her on the voyage home after the losses of her husband and brother. Could they possibly have a future together?
