When his mother contracts a potentially fatal illness requiring expensive treatment, Jim leaves for the island of Nova Madeira, her Indian Ocean childhood home, to find the fortune his grandfather buried in the mountains. He falls for the dynamic, feisty and cheeky pro-independence activist and martial artist, Mia Monteiro. Mia's political views cost her her job, just as as a rebellion sweeps the island. On the eve of the island's independence, Jim and Mia flee to the far side of the island, where they begin their search for the treasure. They need to deal with Mia's jealous cousin, torrential rain, floods, landslides, and the encroaching rebel forces. Along the way, Jim learns about Mia's past, and witnesses first-hand the extraordinary lengths to which she will go for the independence cause.