Set in colonial India, this richly layered coming-of-age tale follows a spirited young artist on a journey up the Ganges - and through the enigmas of her past. How can Anila Tandy, left to fend for herself after her mother's death, dare to apply for a job that is clearly not meant for a woman? But somehow the "Bird Girl of Calcutta," art supplies in hand, finds herself on an eye-opening journey up the Ganges, apprenticed to a gentleman scientist...