Rampore, India, 1684. About to be burned alive on her late husband’s funeral pyre, 17-year-old widow Moorti is rescued from a gruesome fate by a passing British merchant. Thus begins an extraordinary love story and incredible journey as the humble village girl Moorti transforms herself into Maria, becoming one of the most powerful women in India.
Starting a new life as a lowly kitchen maid, she relies on her wits and resourcefulness to rise through the ranks of the British East India Company to eventually become founder of the great city then known as Calcutta, the first city of the British Empire.
