Rajkumar, an 11-year-old Indian boy in Burma, is the only person in Mandalay to recognize the sound of cannon fire approaching the city. After sailing to the city on a sampan, he is told to find work with Ma Cho, who runs a food stall near the palace. When Ma Cho discovers that Rajkumar is an orphan, she agrees to give him a job.

While working on the stall, Rajkumar becomes fascinated by the Glass Palace inside the citadel and asks Ma Cho repeatedly about the royal family who live within. Due to Rajkumar’s Indian heritage, he will not be allowed inside. One morning, he meets Saya John, Ma Cho’s occasional lover. Saya John speaks Hindustani but is not from India and makes his living delivering supplies to the teak camps. When he and Rajkumar talk, Saya John reveals that he was raised by Catholic priests in Malacca.

One holiday, Saya John introduces his son, Mathew. He pays Rajkumar to take Mathew to a festival. As they sit and eat peanuts, Rajkumar tells Mathew how his family died when a plague struck their town. Mathew warns Rajkumar that he and his father will leave the next day; they believe the British are coming, bringing war.