Daphne is repeatedly described as plain or large or unattractive or, in her own words, . She is a bespectacled tomboy who has, as a result of the war, lost both her parents and her brother. Her closest living relative is her great-aunt, Ethel Manners, who lives in India. So, she goes to live in India. Auntie Ethel sees that Daphne doesn't have enough company of her own age in Rawalpindi, so she sends her to live with her old friend, Lady Chatterjee, in Mayapore.