Sebastian was a youthful gentleman, with a dignified personality and awe-inspiring thoughts. His sister Viola, lady of Messaline, was a carbon copy of her brother. They were twins, so to say. The resemblance was amazing. But for their dress, there was no other way to make out the difference. Today, these twins faced dire danger, the danger of termination for good.

They were shipwrecked on the Illyria coast. There were great plans to make a sea voyage together and that they did. The ship was caught in a vicious storm and few could manage to escape. Doom was getting closer. Of the saved, were the captain of the vessel and a couple of sailors who valiantly risked their lives to get Viola ashore... safe and sound. But the lady was not jubilant. Instead, she had the to bear the inevitable loss of her brother. The captain assured her that Sebastian had been seen safe, but this failed to pacify Viola.

According to the captain, Sebastian had fastened himself to a sturdy mast when the ship was on the verge of splitting. Period There was no sign of Sebastian after that. But the assurance of the captain ended there. He refrained from mentioning the last words of Sebastian's disappearance.

Strangely enough, Viola seemed to be convinced. Now she had to think of how well she could gel with the land and the people, 'cause for her, the place was nothing more than a lost world. She asked the captain if he knew anything about the place, the place called Illyria. She got a positive response. She heaved a sigh of relief when she was told that the captain knew the place like the back of his hand.

'Who governs here?' querried Viola. Pat came a reply, that the lord of the land was Orsino, a duke noble in nature as well as poise. Viola remembered having heard of the name from her father. Orsino was unmarried then. And he remained unmarried till now. The general talk though, was that Lady Olivia had become his love life since a month or so.

Olivia was a principled maid, worthy of honour. She commanded respect because she had the grit to make her life worth something despite her father's and brother's death. Olivia loved her brother very much. He was more like a God-father to her. His loss was the worst nightmare she had had. It was enough for her to give up the sight and the company of men.

Lady Olivia wished to stay with a woman who had to face the same circumstances. She wanted to be introduced to the woman. For the woman who had a heart of gold, she was willing to offer her services gladly. The task was tough though. Since her brother's death, Olivia had refrained from admitting anybody into her house and that included the Duke himself.

Viola had to meet her... .at any given cost. She had found a goal to achieve in her otherwise doomed life. She was aware of the fact that if she dressed up as a man, nobody would ever be able to recognize her. She planned to serve the Duke as a page. This was indeed a strange beginning but insecure and forlorn that she was, she was ready to take the risk in an unknown land. She trusted the captain to lock the secret deep in his heart, which he did. He was truly concerned.

Viola had all the arrangements done, from getting the right apparels to the right look. When all dressed finally, she was a replica of her brother. She was Sebastian himself and only she knew this... probably. For reasons best known to miracles, Sebastian was saved. The story took a wide turn.

Meanwhile, the transformation of Viola was complete and the captain presented her before the Duke as Cesario. The charms and the grace of the page caught the glances of Orsino and pleased him thoroughly. Cesario had the honour of being one of the pages of the Duke. Cesario was a diligent worker, a ready observer and extremely loyal and lost no time in being the favourite of the lot.

Orsino confided the whole history of his love for Lady Olivia. Cesario had to hear the entire episode of his love for a woman, who treated him with incessant rejection. Orsino accepted the rejection, he had no choice.. The unkind treatment of the lady had turned him into a silent sufferer. He listened to music, the soft kind, creating an atmosphere of passion and melancholy at the same time.

He had ceased to maintain the company of the so-called wise and the noble, which was once upon a time, a favourite. Cesario had the honour of being the sole companion to the Duke. A complex situation began. Viola a.k.a Cesario realized soon, that she loved the handsome Duke and failed to understand the reason of Olivia's rejection. She gently tried passing small hints as to Olivia didn't really deserve the love of the Duke after the tiresome rejections.