An American-educated Japanese doctor named Sadao Hoki watches the ocean from his home. His wife Hana, whom Sadao met in the U.S., joins him. They spot a bedraggled figure in the distance. Sadao speculates that it might be a shipwrecked sailor. The couple rush over to the beach and discover that he is a white man—a soldier with a gun wound. The couple contemplate whether the best thing to do would be to throw the man back to sea. If they take care of his wounds, they might be charged with being spies. If they hand him over to authorities, he would be killed. They decide to bring the man into the house. They ask Yumi, a servant, to clean the man, but Yumi refuses. Hana decides to wash the man himself; Sadao decides to operate on the man's wounds. Hana applies general anesthetic. Sadao extracts the bullet. The man wakes. A week passes and the man begins to recover. The servants leave the home for their own homes, upset that the couple have taken the American into their home. Sadao is summoned by the General, who inquires about the American in their home. The General muses that it would be unwise to condemn Sadao to death as he is such a skilled doctor. The General proposes that he send one of his assassins to take the American off of Sadao's hands. Days pass and the American feels more and more at home. The assassin does not come. Sadao provides the American supplies and a boat to escape before sending him off. During a gallbladder operation the General reveals that he had forgotten to send the assassin to Sadao's home. Sadao returns to his spot watching the ocean, wondering why he helped the American live.