"In one morning, Rob Horton discovers a tiger in a cage and a girl who speaks her mind. It's then that he begins to understand that some things - like memories, and heartache, and tigers - can't be locked up forever"--Back cover

A tiger cub's escaped from a reserve in the Sunderbans in West Bengal, India, and Neel, a poor boy from the islands, is determined to find her in order to save her from being captured and sold on the black market by Mr. Gupta and his men.

The parents of pearl-eyed princess Cinnamon offer a reward to anyone who can help their daughter speak, a plea answered by an exotic tiger who arrives at the palace, armed with knowledge of the world.