Son of the Gods 1930

Sam Lee is the son of the extremely wealthy Chinese merchant Lee Ying, and he can pass as white. Raised in a world where money smooths prejudice, he is sent to a prestigious university and tolerated in white social circles largely because of his wealth. Yet an incident on a triple date reveals the cruelty that can surface when race is exposed: the two white girls discover that their companions are out with a “dirty yellow Chinaman,” and they pressure the pair to leave with them. The humiliation leaves Sam feeling alienated, and he ultimately drops out of school.

Determined to chart his own course, Sam tells his father that he will travel independently, cutting off the financial support that has shielded him from the harsher realities of the world. He takes a lowly job aboard a ship, where his knowledge of Chinese helps him land work with a novelist named [Bathurst]. In the sunlit south of France, he meets the spoiled yet enthralled [Allana Wagner], a daughter who lives with the indulgent privileges of a pampered upbringing.

[Allana Wagner] falls deeply in love with Sam, and he loves her in return. Their romance initially seems possible, but trouble erupts when Allana learns that Sam is Chinese. The news triggers a public confrontation: she lashes him with her riding crop, exposing the truth to all who witness. The moment shatters the illusion of their easy union, and though she later regrets the tirade and phones to apologize, Sam has returned to New York because his father lies gravely ill.

Back in the United States, Sam is confronted with loss: his father dies, and he is attended by [Eileen], a childhood white friend who had long served as [Lee Ying]’s secretary. The death ushered in a turning point. Embittered by the privileges of white society and buoyed by his father’s memory, Sam renounces the white world and its Christian values, choosing instead to embrace his Chinese heritage. He takes the reins of his father’s business empire with an iron fist, cutting credit to white customers and enforcing his own brand of discipline.

Meanwhile, Allana spirals into a lifestyle of nonstop partying in an effort to forget Sam, but the strain takes a toll on her health. She collapses and falls near death, and her father reluctantly asks Sam to visit. Sam goes, and Allana begins to recover, rekindling a fragile hope for their future.

Into this personal crucible enters a deeper, family secret. [Dugan], Sam’s uncle, reveals the backstory he learned as a policeman in San Francisco: he found an abandoned child and, believing him to be Chinese, entrusted him to [Lee Ying] and his wife. Years later, it becomes clear the child is white. Because Sam was never formally adopted, Dugan advises relocating the family to New York to protect the young man’s future and the family’s interests.

Allana, unable to bear another separation and still deeply in love, declares that she wants to marry Sam before he can reveal to her that he is white. In a hopeful turn, the lovers are ultimately reunited, their bond tempered by the revelations of race, heritage, and sacrifice, and the promise of a future where love can transcend old prejudices.