 Two new missionaries, the Spragues, arrive at the Fitzgibbons  medical mission in the Indian jungle. John Sprague is a physician and Lucy a nurse. Mary Fitzgibbons suspects that they were sent to check up on them, and that they want the mission for themselves. Thomas Fitzgibbons is not medically competent, and Mary must perform difficult procedures for him. When John leaves to attend to a cholera outbreak, Thomas takes Lucy for an evening canoe ride on the river. They discuss philosophy and her beauty. Mary sees them together, and becomes jealous. Early in the morning, she grabs a scalpel and enters Lucy s bedroom. A piercing scream resounds. A messenger is sent to inform John of his wife s sudden death from cholera. He rushes back, but the Fitzgibbons have gone down-river for several days. He asks the Indian employees to help find the grave of his wife, which was hidden to prevent the spread of cholera, because he suspects that she was not a cholera victim. When he opens the coffin, he is startled at the sight. He takes a jeep to catch up with the Fitzgibbons. When he spots them in the canoe, he fires repeatedly at Thomas and the woman that he believes killed his wife, felling both of them and capsizing the boat. The woman is shrouded, as Mary customarily dressed to avoid insects. John turns her head and sees that it is Lucy.