Panama, 1907: It is said that the Canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built.  At a railroad station next to the thundering excavation zone, a young Panamanian canal digger named Omar collapses. Only one person comes to Omar’s aid: a teenaged girl named Ada, newly arrived from Barbados alongside thousands of other West Indian people seeking work. Carefree by nature, she must roll up her sleeves and quickly find a job to send money home for her ailing sister’s medical treatment. A prominent American official spots this scene from afar. John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research, and he has arrived here in single-minded pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But now, his wife Marian has fallen ill herself, and he needs a dedicated caregiver like Ada to look after her.