A young man contracts an intestinal disease as he travels to a tropical island and chooses to fast for his physical and spiritual health. As he develops an intimacy with the island, he becomes convinced that this fast will cure his illness — despite what other Western travelers believe.

A woman finally forms a relationship with her half-sister, but becomes concerned for her well-being; the half-sister and her husband each tell the woman a different story.

After struggling to appeal to their state governor, a dysfunctional family anxiously awaits the public execution of a relative. As they wait at home new of the execution, tensions and strife erupt in a dispute over the relative's innocence.