When they move to Batavia, Dasima is subject to the envy of many, and her wealth attracts the attention of Samiun, a well-connected Muslim who lives with his mother and wife, Hayati.
Dasima eventually leaves her employer and daughter behind to become Samiun's second wife, and when she comes to be mistreated by him and his mother, demands divorce and to be returned the property granted him by the marriage.
Samiun pays Puasa, a local gangster, to kill Dasima and he body is cast into the Ciliwung river, where it lands by the property of her former employer.
[3]: 235–236 The nyai often referred to a native woman kept by a European colonist and was a widespread practice until the mid 1880s, when the Suez Canal opened and more families were moved from Europe to the Indies.
[2]: 476–477 The novel had a strong anti-Muslim sentiment which was removed in subsequent adaptions, specifically in the 1929 film in order to appeal to local (non-Chinese, non-European) audiences.
The main point of conflict in the older publications came from religious differences, but in later versions the focus shifted away from religion and towards race, or the national Indonesian identity.