The island is peopled by a handful of simple folk living far from civilization. One couple have a son who is both blind and deformed. He is so misshapen that neighbours shudder to look on him. But the lad had a gift of poetry and, unaware of his deformity, is happy in his own world. An aeroplane makes a forced landing on the island. On board is an eye specialist who sees the lad and offers to operate on him to restore his sight. At first his mother is delighted, but afterwards she refuses for her son. He is happy in his imaginative world, and she will not drag him from it to a state in which he would know what causes the warmth in people's voices to freeze when they look at him.