During colonial times in Java, a Dutch boy named Vincent makes friends with a mysterious native girl in the forest near the Dutch plantation. The girl always sings a beautiful, yet sad song, and has never worn any shoes. She becomes Vincent’s only friend. At home in the plantation Vincent talks about how happy he is to have this new friend. Every night before bed he sings the alluring song to himself as a lullaby. His father, Hendrik, a Dutch military officer, worries about the boy’s sympathetic behavior to the natives. One fateful day Vincent accidentally leaves his new shoes in the forest and goes home barefoot. Hendrik, angered by Vincent’s foolishness punishes the boy. Vincent gets away to warn his friend in the forest. His father finds them and takes an extreme decision that shakes the boy’s world forever.