A sequel of sorts to Giacomo Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly, this is the story of the child of U.S. Navy Lt. Pinkerton and Cio-Cio-san, the lieutenant's young contract bride during his brief stationing in Nagasaki. Raised in the United States, Tom learns of his Japanese mother only at the age of twenty. He is troubled and goes to Japan to search for his Japanese soul. He finds love in Kyoto's Gion, but the ruthless industrialist who claims the young maiko as his protégé feels dishonored and vows revenge.