This film tells the story of a nyai (mistress) who becomes famous after the publication of a book in 1896, and then popularized through theatre and the traditional performance of lenong. Dasima, a girl who is originally from Kuripan, Bogor, is married to an Englishman named Edward William. From Tangerang, she later moves to Batavia (Jakarta). She becomes well known for her beauty and wealth. One of her suitors is Samiun who is married to Hayati. Dasima is persuaded by Mak Buyung to leave her "master". But when she becomes Samiun's second wife, she is neglected.

Dasima's remorse worsens after she leaves her husband and her 8-year-old daughter, Nancy. Samiun’s first wife, Hayati, who is a heavy gambler, squanders all of Dasima’s wealth. Dasima plans to tell her former master about the ill-treatment that she has been receiving from her current husband, Samiun. Samiun panics. He asks Bang Puasa to kill Dasima. Based on a witness account, Bang Puasa and Samiun are arrested. The killer goes to prison while Samiun is sentenced with banishment.

Edward William returns to the Dutch Indies after his stay in Europe to manage a plantation in Banten area. He is accompanied by his daughter from Dasima, Nancy. Upon his arrival in Batavia, she receives news that Samiun (Dasima's murderer) has served his sentence and is coming back. Nancy dreams of meeting Dasima who asks her to take revenge on Samiun and his wife, Hayati. Eventually, Samiun falls over a cliff and Hayati is stabbed by her own knife.