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Artist Thomas Hudson is an American who has left the civilized world for a simple life in the Caribbean. Schaffner tells the tale in four parts:
The Island - Introduces Hudson and the people he knows. It is set in The Bahamas, circa 1940. Tom is concerned about his friend Eddy, who loves to drink and brawl with anyone he finds. Later the residents of the island and Tom celebrate the Queen Mother's anniversary.
The Boys - Weeks after the celebrations for the Queen Mother, Tom is reunited with his three sons. It is a bittersweet reunion, because he left them and his wife Audrey four years before. Later they go on a challenging fishing trek to catch a Marlin. The segment ends as the boys return to the United States, where oldest son Tom joins the Royal Air Force in time for the Battle of Britain. Their father writes and tells them in a monolog how much he misses them.
The Woman - Tom's wife Audrey is introduced. Hoping she can give him companionship and love, Audrey returns to Tom to try to find what feelings may still exist between them. Tom finds he still loves his wife, but her real motive is revealed as the segment ends: she is there to tell him that young Tom is dead. This spoils her attempt at a reconciliation.
The Journey - Tom attempts to help refugees escape the Nazis. He is accompanied by Joseph and Eddy. Leaving the British-owned Bahamas for the waters near neutral Cuba, Tom finds the refugees and tries to conduct them to the port of Havana, and ultimately to the U.S. He worries that he may not be able to trust "rummy" Eddy, that the refugees may not survive the voyage, and this trip may be suicide for all concerned if they face the Cuban Coast Guard. Just short of their goal, a Cuban gunboat appears, but Tom saves his passengers by staging a diversion for the Cuban sailors, and the refugees reach dry land. Tom hopes to save his own ship by spilling fuel onto the water, which he then ignites. While Tom's crew survives, he is cut down by gunfire from the Cuban boat. As he hovers between life and death, Tom has a vision of his beloved house by the sea, now empty. There he is joined by Audrey and his sons. They embrace and then leave the house. Knowing that his life is about to end, Tom muses that he was very lucky to have the life he had.
