In Galveston, Texas, in the year 1900, a wealthy businessman leaves his family on a train to Fort Worth and takes a ferry back to the island as part of an elaborate plot to murder a rival who dishonored his wife, planning to catch a later train; however, after the act is complete, he is trapped and killed in a hurricane, one of many deaths. His wife, safely in Forth Worth, learns of his death and continues an ongoing affair with his friend's son.