In the Shadow of a Dream

India 1940: An Army Nurse Gives Birth To The Son Of A British Soldier Killed In Burma. The Child Left On The Steps Of A Hindu Temple Is Rescued By An Old Woman Who Names Him Bal And Believes He Is Lord Vishnu'S Gift To Her But She Dies And The Unwanted Orphan Falls To The Care Of A Low-Caste Bhil Woman. Apprenticed To A Herdsman Bal And Two Older Boys Dream Of A Better Life. They Escape To Bombay Where He Comes To The Notice Of Parsee Philanthropist Sam Dastoor Who Adopts Him. Bal Now Dusty Avoids An Englishman Claiming To Be His Uncle And Opts For An Army Career. As A Cadet His Unfortunate Infatuation For A Married Woman Hardens Him. Then On A Holiday He Sees Emma And Is So Haunted By Her Beauty That Years Later When He Meets Her Double Kitty He Dares To Woo Her. Kitty Recruits His Help In Situations Within The Shadow Of The Lotus And The Rose. Later They Establish A School In South India But Kitty Unable To Settle Down Returns To England Alone. Learning She Is The Mother Of His Child He Overcomes His Reluctance To Cross The Blackwaters.