When the British went to India to trade and work, the men who left the country knew they would probably not return and married Indian wives or took Indian mistresses. As the East India Company was replaced by government, men were curtailed from doing this by various means. The Company then began to pay passage to India of a number of willing women who were maintained for a year and expected to marry within that time. For young women, unable to make a 'good match' at home, it was a chance to find a husband with prospects, women flocked to India, willing to try to make a go of it. De Courcy brings this forgotten era vividly to life.