 During the British rule in India several British citizens married Indians and their off-springs resulted in the creation of a new race, Anglo-Indians. One such family that lives in Shorandu, near Goa, is that of Morris, a driver of the Indian Railways, his wife, Margaret, two sons, Johnny and Jimmy, and two daughters, Julie and Irene. Morris is an alcoholic and his family fear that one day he may cause an accident by derailing the train. Julie is an attractive young woman, and there are several men who are attracted to her. One of them is Rahim, a store owner, who lets them buy groceries on credit, hoping to get married to Julie in return; then there is Richard who always hovers around Julie, hoping to win her heart. But Julie has given her heart to Shashi Bhattacharya, the son of Morris  boss, who lives with his devout Hindu mother and an unmarried sister, Usha. Shashi and Julie get intimate, and as a result Julie gets pregnant. She confides in her mother, who wants her to abort the child. She takes Julie to another town to her Aunt Ruby, but Ruby will not hear of aborting the child. As a result, Julie gives birth to a baby boy, and leaves him in an orphanage. During this time, Morris passes away, leaving the onus on Julie to make a living. Then Shashi returns home, meets with Julie, agrees to marry her immediately, talks to his mother, Devki, who does give her consent but first wants to meet with Julie. After the meeting, Julie departs, refuses to speak with Shashi. When Shashi goes to her home to talk to her, Margaret shuts the door in his face. What could have possibly gone wrong during the meeting between Devki and Julie?