Timeless tale where young love blossoms between an orphan and a daughter of a plantation owner
The scene opens with Miss Hanabusa narrating the story of Jo and Grace.
Their fates are intertwined from the start. Little Jo hides from the man
who comes looking for his mother. His mother, who had him out of wedlock,
has kept him a secret. She successfully hid the child from the coffee pickers,
who wouldn’t have allowed her in otherwise. They think such children only bring shame and bad luck.
The man calls out her name only to find that his mother has passed away from a foreign disease.
As fate writes it, on the same day, Grace’s mother also passes away from the same disease,
leaving Miss Hanabusa as her guardian. Both children belong
to different classes and races. They are unaware of each other's presence,
yet share the same grief and pain. Her family surrounds Grace, whereas little Jo has no one.
He silently grieves alone as he watches her mother being taken away. Jo wipes his tears
and starts running behind the cart in which his mother lies. He runs through the jungle,
the segregated coffee fields, and wherever the cart turns but never lets his mother out of sight.
They stop outside a workshop, and Jo patiently waits in darkness until his
mother is alone. Once the men are distracted, he runs up to her and
removes a necklace from her neck. He lovingly gazes at his mother’s face,
but doesn’t stay longer as one man sees him and tells the child to stay away from her.
It’s Grace’s house. She sits in the window, gazing outside,
and sees Jo run away. Jo has nowhere to go. It’s a rigid classist society. Wherever he goes,
they shun him from there. People call him names and make him an outcast. He sits in
the corner in the comfort of his own company when he sees a vendor selling food. Jo hasn’t
eaten since his mother passed away. Hunger leads him to it and he gets in the line. He
has no money and takes the food in exchange for something invaluable. This infuriates the vendor,
and he pushes Jo down, demanding his money. The child doesn’t understand his anger and
continues to chew down the food, thinking if he doesn’t, the vendor might take it away.
Before things can go any further, a white man steps in and saves the boy. He pays for him,
but before he can tend to him, Jo is already gone. The man is the doctor
hired by the plantation owner, father of Grace. Doc talks with the mayor,
who informs him they cannot pay him the money that he agreed to. He is reasonably angry and
plans to return in a month, but the mayor convinces him to stay for a while as they
urgently need a doctor. Doc is a kind man and agrees to stay longer if things turn out better.
Jo follows the Doc around as he is the first man beside his mother
who showed him sympathy. Doc sees his residence for the first time,
and it's worse than what he expected. The place is a complete dump and unlivable even
for animals. He doesn’t have any other option, and unwillingly settles there.
Next day he notices Jo following him around but says nothing. He goes to
the market to meet the mayor. Miss Hanabusa is also there. She glances
towards Doc and quickly looks away when he catches her. He brushes off the encounter.
Doc protests about his new place to the mayor, but this is all they can afford.
He inquires about the boy who keeps following him, but no one knows where he came from. One day,
he just appeared out of nowhere and has been living like this ever since. Just at that moment,
a worker comes running, claiming that his wife has fallen sick. Before leaving,
the mayor warns him that these people don’t trust foreign medicine, but Doc is confident.
He doesn’t waste a second and immediately leaves. Doc enters his house and upon the
checkup he finds the symptoms are consistent with Anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction.
He pulls out an injection which alarms the husband. He refuses, but the Doc is persistent
that this is the only way they can save her life. Because of the language barrier, the
man doesn’t understand its importance and there is a scuffle. Doc accidentally drops the injection.
He needs that medicine to save her life, but there is none left. Jo is watching
this through a creek and doc notices. He goes up to him and asks him to be
a translator for him. Husband wants to hear nothing and angrily asks the boys to leave,
as it’s a common belief that half breeds only bring misfortune.
Doc ignores the man’s protests and asks the boy to go fetch another bag, just like the one he is
holding from his house. At first Jo only stares at him, which leads to Doc thinking that his efforts
may not be futile but to his surprise, the boy turns around and starts running. It’s the race
against time and the doc waits patiently for Jo’s return. He does better than Doc’s expectations and
brings the suitcase right on time. He applauds his efforts and enters the man’s house with Jo
tagging him along inside. Man stands up again to stop them but Doc’s reflexes are quick and
he knocks him out. Doc pulls the man outside and closes the door behind. Jo watches the
doc carefully as he tends to her. The injection does the trick, and he saves his wife’s life.
After asking his name, he takes Jo with him. Upon his arrival, the mayor asks him about the job,
and Doc gives the credit to Jo for saving her life. They ask about his parents and Jo shows
them his mother’s pendant. Mayor recognizes it as soon as he sees it, and is surprised to find
out that he is her son. She led a secluded life up on the mountain, away from everyone.
Doc checks him if he has any symptoms as his mother passed away from the plague,
but luckily, he is as healthy as one in his position can get. The boat leaves in
a month and till then Jo has nowhere to go, so Doc takes him in. On their way back home,
Doc takes Jo to his house to collect anything he want from there. They walk inside and there
are Jo’s mother’s pictures lying on the table. He gently picks it up and the tragic memories
of the loss he is suffering from, comes rushing back into his mind. He sits on the bed and looks
down as the sorrow inflicts him, but this time he isn’t alone. Doc sits beside him,
as he softly comforts him. He shares his own loss with Jo to make him feel better about his own.
They go to the plantation where Doc introduces himself, and Jo translates. He apologizes for
not bowing in the Japanese way, as his back hurts because of the war. Jo naively omits
the last part and says he doesn’t bow because his back hurts, making him sound like a narcissist.
They are walking back when Jo sees Grace for the first time. Mr. Danielson,
along with Miss Hanabusa, is travelling in a cart. Jo, although a child, is mesmerized by her beauty.
He is stunned as he sees her, even stumbles and falls. Doc finds this adorable and smiles.
Ten years have passed since then. Jo has grown into a handsome young man who works as a medicine
runner for Doc. He waits daily at the bridge for Taki, the driver. They race with each other
to the end to see who will win. Taki travels on the road whereas Jo takes the most unusual
route as he travels through the mountains, jungles and crosses the river. At the end,
he surpasses the driver as he does daily. The whole crowd forms to see the result,
and cheers for Jo when he comes first. Grace hears the commotion from inside
and runs to her window. Her leg gets stuck under the table and she falls down. Still,
she makes it to the window and sees Jo. Grace does this every morning as she waits for his arrival.
Mr Danielson has a loan to pay, yet refuses to sell his machinery and asks for more time. Miss
Hanabusa informs him that Grace has sprained her ankle and she should get the treatment.
He doesn’t want the Doc to even come close to her as he spends most of his time with
the sick workers. But when she tells him that Grace also has a fever, he reluctantly agrees.
Hanabusa comes to see Doc but unfortunately, he is gone to a city and it will take him
two days to be back. Jo offers to help as Doc has been training him,
and he thinks he is qualified for such a role in his absence. To his surprise, she agrees,
leaving him dumbfounded. He recollects himself and runs to get his things.
Doc is in Hilo in a lawyer's office. He isn’t here for medicine but is actually
in talks with a lawyer to adopt Jo. He has grown to love him and wants to give
him a place in society that despises him. Legal system doesn’t allow such adoptions,
but he gives the man all his life savings to make it happen.
Jo is anxious and out of breath when he reaches their house. Miss Hanabusa welcomes him and tells
him to wait. Inside, Mr Danielson is angry at Jo for even coming near to his house,
and orders him to leave. Grace has been waiting for this moment all her life,
and isn’t willing to let it go when it's so close to her. She fakes an injury,
and this time, her father has no option but to allow him in.
Jo cannot see her, as there is a veil between them. She is only allowed to pull her leg out
from the bed hanging. He sees her through the little opening and their eyes meet. He
continues to glance towards her as he gently puts a bandage on the wound. Once he is done,
Miss Hanabusa asks him to leave, and he does, but not before saying goodbye to Grace.
Doc has returned and isn’t happy with Jo’s decision. He scolds him
for taking such an enormous task alone and that too in his absence.
Mr Danielson brings in another doctor to replace Doc and Jo.
They go for a checkup of Grace, and this time Doc plans to impress Mr Danielson. He cannot
stay mad at Jo for long, as his affection for him doesn’t allow him to. Grace gets ready,
tying her hair in a cute braid to make her look more pretty.
Doc asks her what’s wrong, and she tells him that although her leg is better,
this time it's her stomach that’s been hurting. Danielson feels disgusted
by them and has set some rules to keep them away from her as much as possible.
She is still behind a veil and it's harder for the doc to work like this. He removes the curtain,
and this is the first time they see each other clearly. Doc commends Jo’s work, but he is in
complete awe of her beauty. He doesn’t listen to a word Doc says and looks at her as if she
is the last person left on earth. He brings Jo out of his imagination and asks him to check on
her. Jo clears his throat and nervously grabs her arm to check the pulse. All this time, his
heart is beating faster than it usually does. He let go of her arm and looks for the thermometer.
Doc is amused as he sees Jo struggle to perform a simple task. He sees the
young love blooming and cannot help but be worried about him. During their walk back,
he advises him to keep his focus on work and not let anything else distract him.
Next day Jo is on his way to deliver the herbs to Grace’s house when he sees a shiny red car
approaching him. Car is a rarity and Jo is fascinated by it. The man driving the
car is Dr. Reyes, who has been called by Mr Danielson. He asks Jo for directions
to their house and tells him. Jo takes up the challenge and runs as fast as he can to reach
there before Dr. Reyes can. He follows the same route as he does with Mr Taki,
and Dr Reyes notices him. Though he loses this war, he can't help but be impressed by this man.
Mr Danielson treats Reyes with honor and the rules that he made for Doc and Jo doesn’t
apply to him. He gets to meet Grace with no obstacle, and falls in love with her at first
sight. Her family thinks that he is the proper doctor that they need. They see Jo running up
to them and are repelled by him. They tell him that from now on Dr Reyes will be their
family doctor and Doc doesn't have to care about them, but only to keep his focus on laborers.
Walking away, Jo looks back and sees Grace standing by her window. She waves at him
and gestures for him to wait. The brightest smile adorns his face as he gladly stays.
She writes on a piece of paper telling him to come to the back door. As soon as he reads it,
he sprints there. Dr Reyes is busy in charming Grace’s family. Meanwhile, Grace quietly sneaks
out without anyone noticing. Jo bumps into Grace and holds her from falling. She grabs his arm
and pulls him inside. Things are awkward between them as they don’t know what to say to each other.
Doc is waiting for Jo to bring the medicines. They try to make a small talk but a noise from
outside alerts them both. She asks him to leave, but before he goes, he tells her
to close her eyes and puts a flower behind her ear. When she opens her eyes, he is long gone.
Mr Danielson’s accountant brings news from the bank that he has been dreading. He is going
bankrupt and doesn’t know what to do. His mother comes outside and inquires about the commotion.
At first he tries to lie, but his mother is persistent and orders him to come clean. They
blame each other for the failure and he tells her that only a miracle can save them from poverty.
At the dinner table, she wears the flower that joe gave her proudly. Dr. Reyes continues to shower
her with compliments, and she keeps smiling. He brings her a fashion magazine as a gift and she
is thankful for his generosity. Her father and Grandmother notices Reyes have taken a
keen interest in Grace and smile at each other. Danielson offers to give Doc’s place to Reyes,
and he gladly accepts it as it means he’ll be able to visit Grace more often.
Reyes goes to the town and Jo sees him there. His car still amazes him and he
runs up to him. Reyes offers to take him on a ride to which Jo happily agrees. Reyes has
successfully charmed Joe the same way he did with Grace’s family. During the ride,
Jo offers to assist Reyes, as he thinks maybe he is more knowledgeable than Doc.
He talks about Grace and Reyes notices he has a crush on her. He laughs at him
for seeing the dreams that are unachievable. Reyes gives him a drink and tells him to man
up first. Reyes doesn’t think of it much, and tells him to meet him in the morning.
Jo comes back home and finds Doc waiting for him. Jo tells him that
Reyes has promised to teach him modern medicine. Doc knows Reyes doesn’t have
good intentions and scolds him for spending time with his competition
instead of helping him. But he doesn’t care as long as he gets to travel in his car.
Next day, Reyes brings Jo along with him up to a Mill for his first case. He follows his every
order like a straight arrow, even holding his cup of coffee in a moving car. Danielson tries
to object to Jo’s presence, but Reyes reminds him they need a translator. Patient is Danielson’s
accountant who has harmed himself and wishes no treatment. Along with Danielson, he too
lost all his money. Instead of treating him, Reyes tells Jo to hold him and hits the guy. Jo doesn't
understand his methods. He asks Jo to bring salt, but Jo is confused, as using charcoal in this
situation is the best treatment. Reyes reluctantly agrees with him and asks him to bring some. He
cannot get the man to vomit as he uses the wrong technique. Jo notices this and offers to help.
Reyes walks up to Danielson and tells him they are late, but Jo successfully revives
the man. In truth, Reyes does not know what he is doing, and Jo’s presence threatens him. He
tells him they cannot work together anymore and drives off without giving him any explanation.
Jo is hurt as he runs and runs until he reaches the edge of the cliff. Standing there,
he breathes the fresh air and takes in the beauty of nature.
At the table, Grace notices her father and grandmother being exceptionally nice to her.
They announce that they she is going to get married to Dr Reyes. Grace is torn. A match
made in heaven for them, but a nightmare for grace. Reyes has promised her father
that he will invest in his plant, which will save the family from bankruptcy. A miracle
Danielson and his mother were seeking, but it came at an expense of his daughter. Grace
cries out that he is much older than her, but this doesn’t concern them as
they only care about the money. She storms off and refuses to listen to them anymore.
Miss Hanabusa gets her ready for the meeting with Reyes but doesn’t leave before telling
her she has her back, no matter what happens. She goes to her window and sees Jo waiting for
her. They meet in the same place where they met before. Grace is broken, yet hides her
pain behind a smile. Jo brings her a flower from a mountain and narrates the story behind its name.
They are named after a princess and a commoner who fell in love despite their differences and
were consequently punished for it. They make each other whole and are nothing when apart.
Grace’s eyes are filled with tears as she sees herself as the princess in his story. Jo notices
that she is saddened by something and asks her. She tells him that her father has promised her
hand to another, Dr Reyes, and their wedding is in two weeks. Jo feels the pain worse than
he can ever imagine. He hugs her and offers her the comfort that she seeks. Grace cries on his
shoulder, letting go of all of her worries. They share an intimate moment, after which Jo leaves.
They hold a small gathering where Reyes introduces her daughter, who is even older than Grace.
Jo is sitting with Doc as he stares into nothing and cries silently.
Doc doesn’t know what to say to him but still asks what's the matter. He
tells him about her marriage and Doc advises that if he truly loves her,
he should not give up. If they are meant to be together, then no one can keep them apart.
During the days when volcanoes erupt, winds bring the smoke to their island.
Doc and Jo are busiest during these days as it affects many people working outside.
They are out there helping people in the fields when Danielson’s cart gets stuck.
He is on his way to Hilo to discuss his bankruptcy and to inform them about Grace’s
marriage into a wealthy family. Danielson is angry as he is late and pushes the driver away
despite his protests. He tries to get the wheel moving on its own and falls into the ditch.
Luckily, Doc and Jo are walking on the same path and hear his driver,
who is shouting for help. Upon closely inspecting, the doc thinks that he may have injured his head
and that’s his primary concern. He asks Jo to run and bring Reyes, as his car is the only
thing that can get him out of here. He runs as fast as he can and informs Reyes on time.
Doc tells him he may have a brain hemorrhage to which Reyes tries to object,
but he cuts him off. They don’t have time for the argument and have to
get him proper treatment. Doc tries to save his life through proper procedure,
but Reyes and Grace’s grandmother don’t let them. Mrs Danielson doesn’t even consider Doc a proper
doctor and puts all her trust in Dr Reyes. He tries to bring them to their senses but
their hate has blinded them. Doc and Jo have no option but to leave and unfortunately, they do.
Some time later, Grace comes running outside announcing that her father
is gone. She hugs Jo and cries. Miss Hanabusa tries to get her away from him,
but Grace is lost in her grief. Reyes’ daughter sees this from inside. Mrs
Danielson tells Reyes it's not his fault that he is gone. She still isn’t letting
go of her ignorance to see the truth, which is in plain sight. She proposes that now,
as the man of the house is gone, they should get married even sooner than it is agreed upon.
His daughter asks them to come outside and see what she is seeing. As they do, they see Grace and
Jo in each other's embrace. Her grandmother asks her to come inside, but she refuses. She holds his
hand, making it obvious that they are in love, and announces that she will stay with Jo. This
angers Mrs Danielson and she pulls Grace away from them and forbids her from ever seeing him again.
Defeated, Jo and Doc walk back home. Jo asks if saving Danielson’s life would’ve made any
difference. He is disappointed at how things turn out to be, but Doc doesn’t let him lose
his spirit. He is proud of him for doing so well under such pressure. Even though Jo has lost all
his hope, Doc is confident that he can still win her back if he keeps trying. He calls Jo his son,
and he tells him he should never allow other people to define him.
They see Reyes coming from behind. Doc wonders what he wants from them, but as he keeps getting
closer, it becomes clearer that he is there to hurt them. Doc pushes Jo aside but cannot save
himself. He is hit by his car and Jo runs towards him. He tries to help him, but he doesn’t have
enough time. Doc passes away soon after. Jo feels the pain same as when he was a child,
but this time it was greater. Back then, he was just a child, not even aware of what existence is,
but Doc was the father who helped him in the times when no one wanted him.
Reyes comes forwards and plans to manipulate the report making it look like an accident.
Reyes threatens Jo to leave the town, or he will be next. Jo runs through the night to nowhere and
screams in the wilderness. Just like his mother, he sees Doc from a far but cannot come near him as
Reyes stands beside him like a hawk. There is nothing that Jo can do. He packs his bags and
goes back to his old home where he lived with his mother. There, he grieves them both in silence.
It’s Grace’s wedding day and her grandmother asks her to be cheerful when Reyes arrives.
She wishes to be anywhere but here and sees no hope of being saved. The lawyer with whom Doc
was in talking terms, comes looking for Jo. He gives him the good news, which is nothing short
of a miracle. The efforts of Doc have been fruitful, and he is now legally Jo’s father.
Jo thanks the lawyer and runs to save his only happiness that is left. He has to
reach at the marriage ceremony before Dr Reyes can. He sees his car and this time
he is determined to win. Everyone awaits the arrival of Reyes, but before he can,
Jo comes running out of nowhere. He is faster than his car and everyone in the crowd sees
his determination. Reyes crashes his car as he is intoxicated, but Mrs Danielson still
blames Jo. She tries to mock him, saying he doesn’t even have a father, but he does.
Jo announces that Doc, Dr. Elias Lawrence,
has legally adopted him and he isn’t Jo anymore. He is Jo Lawrence. He asks for
Grace’s hand in marriage and Miss Hanabusa as her legal guardian approves of the proposal.
Reyes comes out of the car and is still persistent to marry her when Miss Hanabusa
announces Danielson is actually bankrupt. He loses his temper when he finds this, as he only wanted
to marry her for the money. Reyes humiliates himself and everyone sees his true colours.
Jo Lawrence is now a young doctor where he lives in the house with his wife. Reyes is
arrested for the crimes he committed and Hanabusa continues to serve them.