On a remote Indonesian island in the twilight of colonialism, Dutch sugar plantation owner Jan's sudden death disrupts the hierarchy. His wife Agathe, desperate to keep the privileges of her status quo, forces her estranged son Cornelis and his heavily pregnant wife Josefien to travel from Europe and take over the family business. In the midst of a worker’s uprising, Cornelis displays his plans for progressive change. But when Jan’s will puts Siti, his native concubine, at the forefront of the family estate, ideals prove to be idle and blood thicker than water.