Tall and handsome Abdul Karim, a former assistant clerk at Agra Central Jail, arrives in England at the age of twenty-four to serve at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Becoming a personal attendant to the Empress of India, within a year, he establishes himself as a power to be reckoned with at the English court, instructing the queen in Indian languages and affairs. Their intense and controversial relationship leads to turmoil in the royal household.

Victoria and Abdul examines the amazing journey by which a young Indian Muslim came to play a central role in the heart of the great British Empire and his influence over its queen at a time when independence movements in the subcontinent were gaining great momentum. Amidst the political intrigue and conflict that influence this period, the novel tells the story of a tender love between an Indian servant and his elderly queen, a love that survived all attempts to destroy it.