In the sweltering Dutch East Indies, the European colonizers are plagued by a hidden force; a combination of tropical magic, Eastern inscrutability and mutual incomprehension. Blind and deaf to the slumbering powers of the East Indian people, resident Van Oudyck, his son, daughter and seductive wife slowly but surely fall prey to this mysterious force...

The seemingly quiet lives of elderly Ottilie Dercksz and Emile Takma are dominated by remorse for a terrible crime they committed sixty years ago. When a family member arrives from the East Indies, their families are forced to deal with the ghosts of the past.

Landmark tv adaptation of Louis Couperus' "Small Souls" saga, that tells of the gradual disintegration of the once-powerful Van Lowe clan.