Set in the late 17th century, this historical drama chronicles the harsh colonization of Bourbon Island (now Réunion Island). To populate the territory, the French crown ships a convoy of orphaned young women and former prostitutes to be wed to white settlers. Among them are the fragile orphan Alix, married to the sensitive Henry, and the calculating Louison. As these forced unions navigate the brutal environment, Alix’s life shatters when Henry dies, leaving her vulnerable to the predatory land baron Blancpain. Seeking protection, Alix falls into a politically perilous forbidden romance with Jean Penmach, a powerful mixed-race representative of the East India Company, while the island's fragile peace fractures ahead of the arrival of institutionalized slavery.