On 16 Sep 1941, stranger Michael Banyan treks from the Alaskan interior into the small town of Sunivak, Alaska, and is treated with suspicion by the locals. General store owner Hilary Higgins pressures Banyan for information about his summer activities, as he believes that Banyan is a prospector, but Banyan refuses to divulge any information about himself. The townsfolk grow more hostile to Banyan upon learning that he is broke, for the town's supplies are shipped in only twice a year and there is little to spare for an impecunious stranger. Banyan finds two friends in Laurie Lane, who runs the weather station, and barber and newspaper printer Clem Adams, who offers Banyan shelter. Banyan's trouble increases, however, when he is fined fifty dollars for striking Higgins' brutish son Hugo, even though the altercation arose from Banyan's attempt to stop Hugo from beating his dog Flash.