Sea captain Whip Hoxworth (Charlton Heston) comes ashore to join his grandfather’s shipping business, but the black sheep learns that the magnate's assets have been left to myopic cousin Micah Hale (Alec McCowen), setting in motion an epic family rivalry. In the sequel to Hawaii, also based on James Michener's novel, Hoxworth ignites a pineapple industry, and his fortunes merge with those of native Hawaiians and just-arrived Chinese alike.