Plot Synopsis

INDIAN SUMMERS explores the collision of the English ruling class and local people agitating for Indian independence in the summer of 1932, as the two sides alternately clash and merge in intricate games of power, politics and passion. In the foothills of the Himalayas stands Simla, a little England where every summer the British power-brokers of this nation are posted to govern during the summer months. This fictional story centers on three brother-sister pairs. Ralph Whelan is the private secretary to Lord Willingdon, the British Viceroy of India. Ralph is an upwardly mobile, politically ambitious bachelor, hiding a checkered past. He is joined by Alice, his beautiful younger sister who appears suddenly from England with her little boy -- and conspicuously without her husband. Next there is Aafrin Dalal, an idealistic clerk in the elite Indian Civil Service, who wins Ralph's trust by saving his life. Aafrin seems marked for rapid advancement in the British bureaucracy, but his sister Sooni threatens his career by agitating tirelessly for national independence. Then there are two adrift Americans: Eugene Mathers, an expatriate architect from a wealthy Chicago family, who has been taken in by Ralph after being stricken with malaria; and Eugene's seductive sister, Madeline, who comes to care for him -- and ends up caring for Ralph. Pulling the strings that animate much of the action is Cynthia Coffin, a manipulative military widow who presides like an empress over the Royal Simla Club, where the ruling class lounges in subtropical splendor, sipping gin and tonics, running the country, and dancing the night away. Apart from this in-group are two other contingents representing British imperialism: tea plantation owner Stafford Armitage, recently joined by his eager and inexperienced nephew Ian McLeod; and missionary Dougie Raworth, who rescues a nameless mixed-race boy. PBS aired the U.S. premiere of this series on Sunday, September 27, 2015 at 9pm (check local listings for time). On Sunday, September 11, 2016 at 10pm (check local listings), PBS aired the U.S. premiere of the second season of INDIAN SUMMERS. Three years have passed since last season. Aafrin is secretly fighting for Indian independence from inside the civil service. Does Ralph suspect his disloyalty?
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On Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 10pm (check local listings), PBS premiered the Season 2 finale of INDIAN SUMMERS. Aafrin tries to stop Alice and Charlie from leaving for England. A fateful roadblock awaits. Cynthia makes a surprise investment. Sooni has a rite of passage.