In Austria, lonely after her sister's marriage Katrin agrees to marry her father's research associate Dr. Walter Fane. He takes her to China but constantly ignores her in favor of his medical research. Lonely Katrin has an affair with Jack Townsend of the British Embassy. When Walter discovers this he becomes very bitter. He travels to fight a cholera epidemic and Katrin goes with him and helps. They grow closer together than ever before, but Walter is knifed in a riot incited by the burning of a cholera-infested town. Now their newfound happiness will depend on Walter's survival.—Gary Jackson