On a Caribbean island, a rich landowner's son, Maxwell Fleury (James Mason), is fighting for political office against black labor leader David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte). As if the contentious election weren't enough, there are plenty of scandals to go around: Boyeur has a secret white lover (Joan Fontaine) and Fleury's wife, Sylvia (Patricia Owens), is also having an affair. And then, of course, there's the small matter of a recently murdered aristocrat (Michael Rennie).