A group of English nuns travel to Mopu[a] (near Darjeeling) to set up a convent school.

The sisters often clash with Angu Ayah, the building's caretaker, as well as the local population.

While exploring the Indian countryside with friends one day, they came across a gravestone, covered with brush.

[5] Reviewing Godden's India books in 2013 for The Guardian, Rosie Thomas wrote, "For all its convent setting, the novel thrums with sex, portrayed with a subtlety that seems only to intensify its power.

The story is simple, but the narrative takes an unshakeable hold, building to a climax involving sexual obsession, insanity and tragic death, which, despite the gothic elements, is handled with masterful restraint.