Early life histories of clean and contaminated n-heptane droplets injected into high-temperature air (1000 K, 10 aim) at a Reynolds number of 100 are examined in an effort to determine the effects of surfactants on droplet behaviour. Transient variations in droplet shape, mass, and velocity, and all effects due to liquid-phase motion and heating, and variable thermophysical properties are included in this numerical study. A detailed analysis of droplet oscillation, surfactant transport, interfacial stresses, liquid-phase motion, droplet drag, and heat and mass transfer is presented along with engineering correlations which may be useful in spray modelling.