This children's novel tells the story of Sara, the child of a wealthy English widower, Captain Ralph Crewe. Captain Crewe is stationed in India with the British Army. Sara, like many other English children living in India, is sent to an English boarding school at the age of seven, as it was widely believed that the Indian climate was unsuitable for young children from England. Her father pays the headteacher, Miss Minchin, for extra privileges for Sara because he dotes on her so much, but this does not always produce the results he desires.