The story tells of the early life of an upper middle-class English Army officer, George Cottar, from his early childhood, through his schooldays, to his return from India at the end of his first tour of duty there. Interwoven into this is an account of his dreams, in which a young girl features, who although he only met once, persists in his mind. On his return home, he meets the same girl, who doesn't realize that she has featured in his dreams for some 21 years – nor does he realize that she, too, has dreamed about him.