Replacing Vivien Leigh after she was felled by illness, Elizabeth Taylor stars as Ruth Wiley, a young English bride whose wealthy husband, John (Peter Finch), has spirited her off to his vast tea plantation in the jungles of Ceylon. Initially excited to be in this new environment, Ruth soon discovers that her new husband considers her no more than an attractive possession who can't compete for his attention with activities like indoor polo with his cronies. Since this and similar games absorb much of John's time, his friend Dick Carver (Dana Andrews) actually runs the plantation. No mere businessman, the sensitive Carver likes to rattle off Chopin nocturnes, and he and Ruth soon become involved. Now eager to leave a house that has become like a prison, Ruth asks Dick to take her to Paris, and he agrees. But an epidemic of cholera suddenly breaks out, and everyone on the plantation is put under quarantine. To add to their problems, Ruth has learned that her husband's father built their house directly in the path of an elephant walk--and the local elephants have suddenly become very restless. This slick soap opera reveals Sri Lanka to be a land of great natural beauty.