Things start to heat up when, on Sara's eleventh birthday, she gets the news that her rich papa is dead and broke. Sara goes from riches to rags in about thirty seconds, as Miss Minchin banishes her to a small attic room and turns her into a drudge. Her life consists of running errands, doing chores, tutoring the younger kids, and getting yelled at. Meanwhile, we see that nothing can touch Sara's innate goodness: she's still as nice as can be to everyone she meets, including the Indian servant of the mysterious Indian gentleman (as in, British guy from India) who moves in next door.