Given in Marriage

A vivid portrait of life on a Southern Indian coffee plantation unfolds as two contrasting partners—hard‑working Edward Dawson, the practical son of a retired general, and the polished, ambitious Nicholas Byng—navigate the rugged hills and gossip‑laden taverns. Their banter about hidden gold reefs and the practicalities of manure and fertilizer paints a lively picture of colonial enterprise, while their differing motivations hint at deeper ambitions.

Their routine ride takes an unexpected turn when a lone rider, disoriented and cloaked in a smart topee, appears at a remote crossroads. The strangers’ brief exchange—filled with polite curiosity and regional references—injects a note of intrigue into the otherwise routine landscape. Listeners are invited to follow these characters as they balance the demands of the land, the lure of whispered fortunes, and the subtle tensions that arise between native and expatriate worlds.