Basava and his sister Sundari live in the port-town of Mamallapuram during the Pallava period. Their father, a sailor, has not returned from his voyage to Kamboja and the children are worried. When they go to the port to find out if anyone there has information about their father's ship, they realise to their dismay that the foreign sailors there don't speak a word of their language! What are they going to do now?