In the opulent havelis of Shahjahanabad, a plot unfolds. John Company official Henry Haines schemes meticulously for his future. His spy, Amar Chaudhry, plays with fire and the resulting inferno rages uncontrollably, threatening to break Murad Ali's shackles, flush out Ratan Rana and Yousuf Ali into the wild to face their destinies, and confront their conscience. A young man struggles to find his bearings in an alien land. A young girl's heart is broken, while another rediscovers herself; yet another woman finds her purpose in life while a man keeps living on hope.Rivers of ambition and greed run deep and red, ravaging the mere mortals in their wake. But everyone is an unwitting pawn in this dizzying vortex of powerplay ' for land, labour and lives.