It's 1905, and the Japanese victory over the Russians has shocked the British and their imperial subjects. Sixteen-year-old Leela and her younger sister, Maya, circulate a petition amongst her classmates to desegregate the girls' school in Chandrapur: their own small sliver of revolution. When she discovers that Maya has embarked on a forbidden romance, risking all they have worked for, Leela's response propels her family, her town, and her country firmly into the new century.