Sea Wife

After the war, Michael Cannon returns to London and operates under the alias 'Biscuit' as he places personal ads to reconnect with Sea Wife. He keeps his true identity hidden while pursuing the memory of the woman he loves. This relentless search sets up the emotional through-line of the story.

Biscuit is summoned to the Ely Retreat and Mental Home, where his fixation becomes a central focus. He meets an ill man nicknamed 'Bulldog' who tries to persuade him to quit the search. The encounter foreshadows the conflict between belief and doubt that threads through the narrative.

Inside the hospital setting, Bulldog pressures Biscuit to abandon the search, suggesting it is futile. He exhibits a cynical, distrustful attitude that hints at the racism and biases that color his reactions later. Biscuit's resolve to find Sea Wife remains unshaken.

In 1942, people crowd aboard a ship escaping Singapore, and Number Four initially intends to evict a cabin reserved for hungry children and nuns. He relents when he sees it is occupied by the vulnerable, including Sister Therese, the nun who will be Sea Wife. The ship is torpedoed, and Biscuit, Sea Wife, Bulldog, and Number Four end up on a small life-raft.

Adrift, Number Four privately confirms that Sea Wife is a nun and asks the others to keep it secret. The group then encounters a Japanese submarine, whose captain reluctantly provides food and water after Number Four negotiates in Japanese.

They land on a deserted island, and Number Four finds a machete that allows him to build a sturdier raft. He insists on keeping the machete for himself, a move that deepens Bulldog's distrust.

Biscuit falls in love with Sea Wife, and she is tempted but rejects his romantic advances without explanation. The unspoken tension adds emotional strain to their survival ordeal.

When they prepare to sail, Bulldog tricks Number Four into going in search of the machete and then casts off without him. Biscuit tries to intervene, but Bulldog knocks him unconscious with an oar.

Number Four attempts to swim toward the raft but is killed by a shark, leaving Biscuit, Sea Wife, and Bulldog to endure the dangerous sea with dwindling hope.

Days later, the three survivors are rescued by a ship. Biscuit is taken to a hospital for a long recovery, while Sea Wife has disappeared. The escape remains an unsolved mystery in his mind.

Back in London, Bulldog informs Biscuit in his hospital room that Sea Wife died on the rescue ship. Heartbroken, Biscuit leaves the hospital grounds, unable to fully reconcile the memory with reality.

As Biscuit walks past two nuns outside the hospital, Sea Wife is among them, though he does not recognize her. She watches him leave in silence, a poignant closing image that lingers after the memory has begun to fade.