Dancer Anna Janssen, common-law wife of Alastair De Vries, shoots him in a cafe for dallying with a chorus girl. The story opens with Anna's trial 5 years later, and detective Thomas McCarthy narrates his version of the case. He is sent to Tahiti where he finds and arrests her; when their ship sinks at sea, only the detective and his prisoner are saved, being cast up on a deserted island. After 2 years together, they realize the strong attachment that has developed, and Anna is regenerated by her free, natural existence. As hope of rescue dims, they take marriage vows, but when a ship is sighted, she insists, against his wishes, that she return to face trial. Anna is sentenced by the judge to be released in the custody of her husband for her natural life.