A group of people are shipwrecked when their yacht runs aground on a South Pacific island. The usual hierarchy in an upper-class British family breaks down quickly when it becomes apparent that only the servant, Crichton, is capable of surviving on his own and he becomes the community's leader.
Simon Crawford is a barrister whose daughter is killed in a hit-and-run accident. When his neighbor is also killed, evidence points to the barrister as the murderer.
Irish Brigid Mary blames the English for the deaths of her fiance, brother, and father. Becoming a nurse following WW I she finds herself caring for what she considers the enemy. Then she begins to fall in love with soldier Kenneth Boyd.