On a South Pacific island during World War II, Ensign Nellie Forbush, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with French planter Emile de Becque but she refuses Emile’s proposal of marriage, unable to overcome the prejudices with which she was raised. Meanwhile, Lt. Joe Cable falls in love with a Tonkinese girl named Liat, but he too denies himself a future due to the same fears that haunt Nellie.