1942: Clair and Shep Durant, along with their mute four-year-old son, Ty, wait for evacuation to India before the imminent Japanese invasion of the remote Andaman Islands. Shep, a doctor, and Claire, a budding anthropologist, scramble with last-minute tasks while Naila, the thirteen-year-old island girl who has taken on the role of nanny, tends to Ty. But when the time to board arrives, Ty and Naila cannot be found. Shep forces Claire to sail on the boat for Calcutta and remains in Port Blair to find his son. A few days later the Japanese seize the Andamans before Shep and Ty can evacuate.