Anselme Sainteny is three years into an eight-year tour as director of a sprawling tin mine in French Indochina. He loves his job, and he loves the place where he does it. One morning, he wakes up in a particularly good mood, owing in part to the Vietnamese woman in his bed. After breakfast, Sainteny meets Dubonnet, his assistant, who is in shock following an explosion in the mine. He tells Dubonnet to take the morning off and have some whiskey, then moves on to Wang Dieh, the Chinese overseer. The slovenly Chinese workers, he rationalizes, always cut corners and take undue risks. Wang implores Sainteny to stay away from the hospital, but his plea falls on deaf ears. The Frenchman condescends to his employee and moves on to the infirmary, where he sees three men in extreme pain. One boy, who will die in an hour, tells him he wants opium and "the girl," who turns out to be one of a few Vietnamese women the Chinese workers have imprisoned in the mine. In search of solace, Sainteny goes to speak with Jerome, the captain of the boat that carries tin down the river. They jest for a while, but when the conversation turns to possible conflict between the Vietnamese and Chinese workers, Jerome seems to find the matter much funnier than does his boss. Sainteny proposes to bring some French nuns to the camp in order to elevate the workers' morals, but Jerome thinks they should buy some Chinese women for the workers instead. Wang Dieh refuses to give up the women in the mine. Discomfited, Sainteny retires to his bed, drinks some wine, and worries.