 Young Riyo, a "picture bride" who has only a photograph and a letter from the man she is to marry in Hawaii, is bitterly disappointed when, upon her arrival, she finds him to be much older than his picture, and much older than herself. Work in the cane-fields is hard, but she makes a friend in Kana, a hard-working young mother with an abusive husband. She begins to work laundry at night, and cane-fields during the day, to save up for a trip back to Japan. Over time, however, she finds herself feeling less unwelcome in this new land, and less hostile towards her husband, whom she has never slept with. After Kana and her baby die, during the burning of the cane-leaves, she finally admits her secret to her husband: Her parents died of Tuberculosis. He is shocked, but soon recovers.