LIANA

A French-owned island of the Caribbean is the setting for a haunting story of the tragedy of a marriage between a lovely, untutored mulatto and a rich, lonely white man. He has married her to spite the woman he wants and loves -- and he hasn't succeeded; he has reaped ridicule, where he had had envy. Then comes on the scene a bitter young French refugee, in love with his country-that-was-before-the-fall, detached from the vices and pitfalls of a tropical island community. Marc Royer hires him to teach Liana -- he leaves them to their own devices -- and then is startled into suspicion when infidelity is charged. The thought is a fertile seed -- and emotional complications confuse the issues of young Pierre's desire to serve his country. A tragic ending sounds the inevitable finale to an impasse. Simply told, with emotional undertones, muted.