Summary
In the stark, pine‑clad valleys of an American mountain town, Yano Masata, a Japanese painter whose canvases echo the melancholy of exile, is approached by the affluent but morally bankrupt John Furthman to counterfeit bonds. Yano's refusal ignites a deadly cat-and-mouse game. His sister, O Haru San, arrives from Japan, driven by desperation to locate a husband who abandoned her. Guided by a compassionate woman from the Japanese consular mission, Haru discovers Yano's precarious existence. The revelation that Furthman is, in fact, her missing spouse shatters her world; a violent confrontation ensues, ending with Furthman's gun misfiring and Haru's tragic death. In a fit of vengeance, Yano hurls Furthman over the cliff's edge. The aftermath sees Yano expressing gratitude to the mission woman, forging a tentative friendship, and agreeing to paint a portrait of Furthman's husband—unaware that the husband is the very man he killed. When the portrait is completed, Yano, consumed by rage, destroys it and confesses the murder to Mrs. Furthman's financial adviser. He then incinerates incriminating evidence, sparing Mrs. Furthman and her son from scandal, only to be apprehended by the police, sealing his fate.
Synopsis
Yano Masata, a struggling Japanese artist living in a mountainous area in America, refuses to tint counterfeit bonds for wealthy John Furthman. Yano's sister, O Haru San, comes from Japan to look for her husband who deserted her, and finds Yano with aid from a woman in the Japanese mission. When she recognizes Furthman as her husband, Furthman and Yano fight until Furthman's gun goes off, killing O Haru San, and Yano throws Furthman off a cliff. Later, Yano thanks the woman in the mission, they develop a friendship, and he agrees to paint her husband's portrait from a photograph. The husband is Furthman and his wife thinks that his fall was an accident. After Yano paints the portrait, he destroys it in a moment of wrath and confesses the killing to Mrs. Furthman's financial adviser. Later, Yano burns the evidence of Furthman's crimes so that Mrs. Furthman and her son will remain unaware of Furthman's treachery and not be disgraced. The police then arrest Yano.
