In the South Pacific, in Polynesia, on the island of Makatea, Quinn Harris, a taciturn pilot, leads a quiet life, content to earn a living by transporting goods in his De Havilland Beaver. His life is exactly as he wants it to be—until he meets Robin Monroe, a sophisticated and determined woman, the assistant editor of a New York magazine, on vacation for a week with her boyfriend, Frank Martin. An urgent work assignment in Tahiti, the neighboring island, forces Robin to reluctantly hire Quinn to fly her there. But a violent storm forces them to make an emergency landing on a deserted island.