Coral Reefs 1939

In Brisbane, Ted Lennard kills a criminal in a struggle and manages to board the Portland, a cargo ship bound for Mexico. On the voyage the vessel calls at Togobu, a remote coral reef inhabited by a few happy Polynesians and an Englishman who hates civilization. Upon reaching Mexico, money disappears from the captain’s cabin, and [Ted Lennard] is confined in the hold. When the funds are recovered, the ship returns to Brisbane and he is released with apologies. He heads inland to avoid arrest, but in a café he is spotted by Abboy, a dogged police detective. He flees into the wild, where he discovers an isolated cabin occupied by a young woman, Lilian White. She welcomes him, and as they grow closer, he suggests they run away together to Togobu.

One day the detective arrives again. He informs Ted that he is no longer wanted for murder, but Lilian White is. She travels to the nearest town, which is beset by influenza epidemic, and falls ill. Ted follows, but so does the detective. The authorities arrange special treatment for her, and she eventually recovers. In the meantime, Ted has been working hard and earns enough money for two rail tickets back to Brisbane. In the harbor they find the Portland, and they ask the captain to take them to Togobu. Out of the shadows steps the detective, who concludes that Lilian White died in the epidemic and his case is closed.