When the timber merchant John Flory befriends the Indian doctor Veraswami, he soon finds himself alienated from his British compatriots and even from the woman he hopes will become his wife, because they reject the idea of racial equality. Meanwhile, the unscrupulous official U Po Kyin does everything to climb the social ladder, and he proves willing to hurt anyone necessary in the process. Based on George Orwell's own experiences as a policeman in Burma in the 1920s, this 1934 novel presents a scathing portrait of British colonial society in its twilight.