Summaries

Synopsis

Pilot Noah Dugan is sleeping when two creditors burst in and threaten him. They tell him he has 24 hours to come up with $5,000 and a week to come up with an unspecified remainder. They rough him up and leave.

Dugan goes out looking for work, but nobody will hire him. In desperation, he goes to a friend, Stoney, who tells him about a cargo run. Dugan asks what kind of plane. Stoney is evasive at first, then finally shows him the plane -- an old B-29 into which animals are being loaded. Dugan refuses, saying animals and planes don't mix. Trying to convince Dugan to fly the run, Stoney introduces him to Bernadette LaFleur, a missionary with an orphanage who is taking the animals to a remote tropical island, where she plans to show the natives how to raise them. Bernadette asks how soon they can leave. Dugan says never, and tells her to get her money back from Stoney -- fast. Stoney says the money is gone. Bernadette threatens to take the matter to the police if necessary.

Dugan finally tells Stoney he'll take the run if he gets a certified check for $3,000 in Honolulu. As Dugan explores the plane, Petey, a duck belonging to Julie, one of the orphans, escapes to the back of the plane. Dugan goes after him and ends up dropping out the back. Seeing the plane's condition, Dugan heads off, but stops short when he sees the creditors drive up. Saying he'll fly the cargo run, Dugan asks Stoney to stall them.

The kids load the rest of the animals, among them a bull, Brutus. Dugan has trouble getting Brutus on the plane until Bobby, another of the kids, coaxes him on board. Dugan has the kids leave, while Julie and Bobby stay behind to say goodbye to Petey and Brutus, respectively. Evading the creditors, Dugan packs his bags. Bernadette says goodbye to Julie and Bobby and she and Dugan head for the plane. Once on board, Dugan starts the engines. Uneasy about how Dugan will treat the animals, Bobby sneaks on board. Julie follows him.

As Dugan takes off, he lights a cigar while Bernadette plays classical music in a tape player. Dugan complains about the music, and Bernadette, who he calls "Bernie," says she'll let stop playing the music if he stops smoking. Dugan reluctantly agrees, then discovers that the plane's autopilot isn't working. Bernie offers to help, but Dugan is doubtful since her experience is limited to a few hours flying a Cessna. As soon as she takes control, however, the plane pitches nose down. Just then, Petey comes out, followed by the kids. Dugan goes back with the kids to check on the animals, but is knocked unconscious when Brutus kicks him.

The kids report the problem to Bernie, but just then Dugan returns. He settles in to fly the plane through the rest of the night while the kids sleep in the back. The next morning, Bernie and Dugan see the sunrise off the left wing, not behind them as expected. Dugan checks the instruments, which indicate that they're still on the heading he wanted to fly. When he removes Bernie's tape player, however, he discovers that the player had affected the compass and they're now off course. He says they'll have to go as far as they can before they run out of fuel. Bernie asks if they can turn back, but Dugan says they've gone too far.

As the engines begin to flame out, Bobby spots an island off to the left. The engines die out completely just before they reach the island, forcing Dugan to ditch in the water, with the plane coming to a sudden stop on the beach. Dugan and Bernie build a corral out of the vegetation and move the animals from the plane into the corral. Meanwhile, two Japanese sailors, who noticed the plane when it crashed, begin making plans to intercept the new arrivals.

As Bobby leads Brutus to the corral, he suddenly runs off. Bobby and Julie chase after him, finally catching up to him near a river. When they make their way back, they see the Japanese sailors' hut and tell Dugan and Bernie. Dugan says the hut must have been a World War II military outpost. Bernie says the sailors look like they're still dressed for the war. Dugan says they may not have heard that it ended. Bernie suggests going down and talking to them, but Dugan vetoes the idea, saying they should go back to the plane instead.

Back in the plane, the group sees the two sailors come out. The sailors demand that the group surrender, but both their rifles malfunction and a grenade that one of them throws turns out to be a dud. Dugan, Bernie, Bobby, and Julie chase them back into the underbrush. Bernie says she still wants to make friends with them, but Dugan still doesn't trust them.

As Julie and Bobby prepare for bed, Julie says that Dugan was brave, but Bobby says he still doesn't like him. Bernie goes to relieve Dugan, apologizing for her behavior. Dugan also apologizes. Bernie says she'd like for them to try to get along better.

The next morning, Bernie is nowhere to be found, so Dugan goes after her while the kids go swimming. Bernie makes her way to the sailors' camp, finding it empty. As she explores their hut, they return. She tells them that World War II is over. They settle down and prepare a meal, which they share with her. Meanwhile, Dugan comes across the compound. When he overhears Bernie saying, "No more, I've had enough," and hears the soldiers laughing, he charges the hut, breaking a wall and upsetting the meal. The soldiers attack Dugan, but Bernie shouts at them to stop. She introduces her friends to Dugan as Commander Hiro and Cleveland from the Japanese Navy. Cleveland, who is fluent in English, says that his mom visited the United States in 1924 and her favorite city was Cleveland, his namesake. Bernie says the sailors have been stranded on the island for 35 years.

As Bernie and Dugan make their way back to the plane, he lectures her for leaving. Later that night, while the kids are sleeping, he tries to apologize to her. When she doesn't listen, he asks more forcefully and they go outside to talk. Meanwhile, not having actually fallen asleep, Bobby and Julie sneak to the front of the plane and overhear them talking. Dugan tells Bernie he cares about her and they share a kiss. Bobby asks Julie how Bernie can like Dugan, and she says Dugan is really nice. Bobby remains unconvinced.

The next day, the sailors see the group attempting to drag a rubber fuel tank from the plane. Cleveland says the tank will make a lousy raft, and Hiro comes up with an idea to use the plane as a boat. Bobby likes the idea, but Dugan has his doubts. Cleveland asks him if he plans to stay until someone finds him, and he says he will, even if it's a couple of days or weeks. Cleveland then asks him, "How about 35 years?"

With the sailors' help, Dugan, Bernie, Bobby, and Julie change the plane into a boat. Bernie works on a sail, but when she asks for a large piece of cloth to put in the center, the sailors offer their Japanese flag. Bernie adds the flag at the top.

Bobby and Julie start to load the animals, but Dugan says they can't bring them on board. This angers Bobby, who says that Julie kept saying that Dugan was nice, but his refusal to board the animals now proves otherwise. Julie gets upset, and Dugan finally relents, allowing the animals to be loaded. Walking around to the other side of the plane, Dugan sees Bernie painting the name "Noah's Ark" on the side and tells her he hates the name "Noah," but says that otherwise the name is fine.

As the group prepares to depart the island, they can't find any sign of Cleveland or Hiro. When they can't wait any longer, they launch the boat, but just as they get into the water Cleveland and Hiro appear on the beach. They jump in the water and swim toward the boat. Dugan asks Cleveland and Hiro why they were late. Just then, they see several explosions on the hillside -- following orders they were given during the war, the sailors made sure they left nothing when they departed.

The group sails toward Hawaii. As they sail, Bernie gets an idea about sending a message. Dugan ties a note to Petey and sends him off, but the duck heads in the wrong direction. Cleveland suggests they try fishing, but he and Hiro are unable to catch anything. Meanwhile, Brutus refuses to eat. Bobby tries to give him some milk, but Dugan stops him, saying the milk is their food supply and he doesn't want it being used to feed the animals. Annoyed, Bobby takes his milk ration and gives it to Brutus.

That night, Bobby gets an idea to use a lantern to draw fish -- something he and a friend would do at the orphanage. The light draws the fish, but it also draws a shark, which scares the fish away. Using the last of their caught fish, Dugan, Hiro, and Cleveland go after the shark, but it gets away. Wanting to get a closer look, Bobby gets too close to the edge, slips, and falls in the water. Dugan jumps in after him and barely manages to get him back on board before the shark returns. As Dugan jumps on board, Bernie fires a gun at the shark, killing it. Bobby thanks Dugan for saving his life, but Dugan berates him, saying he nearly got both of them killed. Dugan orders Cleveland to take Bobby downstairs and get him changed.

Below deck, Dugan asks the rest of the group to leave him and Bobby alone. He apologizes to Bobby. Bobby also apologizes for his behavior, and they agree to be friends.

The next day, a storm hits, destroying part of the wooden decks on the boat but leaving it otherwise intact. After the storm clears, Brutus, who has fallen down, is lying on his side. Bobby asks if Brutus can be saved, but Bernie says there's nothing that can be done. Dugan pulls out a gun to put Brutus out of his misery, but Bobby refuses to let him be shot. Dugan asks Bobby what his dad would have done. Bobby says his dad left him at the orphanage and didn't care. Dugan says that now Bobby is surrounded by people who *do* care. Hiro takes the gun from Dugan, sits down next to Bobby, and gently talks to him in Japanese. Resigned to Brutus' fate, Bobby says a tearful goodbye to him, then nods to Hiro.

As Hiro prepares to shoot Brutus, the group hears a whistle from a Coast Guard cutter, which has located them. As the cutter tows them toward shore, Brutus is shown to have fully recovered, while Dugan marries Bernie and they hug the kids.