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Edinburgh, 1810. Teachers Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods open a boarding school, seeking an independent life together. Their world shifts when a wealthy aristocrat enrols Jane Cumming, her “illegitimate” 15-year-old granddaughter from India. An outsider at first, Jane slowly becomes entwined with the teachers’ lives, especially during a summer spent in their care. As affection deepens, professional boundaries blur and an unconventional household forms. But Jane’s growing need for intimacy strains the fragile balance. Feeling excluded, she demands to return to her grandmother. A devastating accusation follows, turning their lives into an existential struggle, resulting in a decade-long legal battle that scandalises Scottish establishment. Based on true events.