The time is the early 1860s. Anna Leonowens, an attractive English widow, arrives in Bangkok, Siam, with her son Louis. She has been engaged by the King to teach the royal children English and the ways of Western culture. The King is a swaggering, but likeable despot, who is eager to bring to his people the advantages of modern civilization. However, he is still an absolute monarch, basically kind, but demanding instant obedience to his every whim, with swift punishment to anyone who dares to oppose him. Anna finds him overbearing and unreasonable in his dictatorial attitudes, but she is charmed by his royal children. This personality conflict gives rise to several situations which range from humorous to romantic to tragic. It is this conflict that constitutes the remainder of the show.