The assassins kick Geoffrey's body down a ravine, while Hugh cradles Yvonne's lifeless body in the rain. Yvonne runs back to the brothel at the sound of gunshots, but a skittish horse knocks her down and kills her. Geoffrey grabs a machete and a fight breaks out, accusing the men of conspiring with the Sinarquista to kill the Indio and take his money, before drunkenly ordering they “stop sleeping with wife.” They shoot him dead. They taunt him with antisemitic slurs and take his letters. The Sinarquista from earlier (who’s been tailing Geoffrey) confides with them. A group of men claiming to be police officials confront him, first accusing him of theft before taking his money and demanding his passport. Sometime later, Geoffrey stumbles out of the brothel but the rain discourages him and he returns. Yvonne and Hugh arrive at the brothel, but the pimp tells them that Geoffrey is with a girl. The pimp sends one of his girls to seduce Geoffrey and she takes him into a back room. Aloud, he confesses that he cannot forgive her.
In a daze, Geoffrey reads Yvonne's letters, which reveal that she is sorry for the affair and wants a second chance. Meanwhile, the owner of a bird that has just won a cockfight walks in and hands Geoffrey a stack of Yvonne's lost letters. Geoffrey walks into a brothel tucked in the side of a mountain, where a pimp pretends to recognize him and buys him drinks.
Through her tears, Yvonne searches for her husband, but Geoffrey boards a bus before she can find him. Hugh fears that Geoffrey will not let them forget about their affair even though it is over. Ignoring her pained look, Geoffrey lashes out about a past affair between Yvonne and Hugh and then stalks off. Geoffrey pointedly adds that when Hugh visits, he will practice the Eskimo custom of sharing his wife. Geoffrey agrees and describes an idyllic retirement, living with Eskimos. Caught up in the swell of emotion, Yvonne suggests to her husband that they give their relationship a fresh start in a new city. The crowd is jubilant and hoists Hugh in the air.
Hugh makes his way to the ring and grabs the red cape from the matador, jousting with the bull. Yvonne, Geoffrey and Hugh stop for lunch at a mountain café overlooking a bullfighting ring, where Hugh reminisces about the fallen colleagues he left in Spain. On the bus ride to the volcano, Geoffrey witnesses an Indio die in an apparent riding accident, and a Sinarquista loots money from the corpse. Vigil, Geoffrey leaves Yvonne with him at the carnival as he goes out to get a drink, confiding in an old drinking acquaintance. After running into his physician friend Dr. When Geoffrey suggests they go on a day trip to a local carnival, Hugh tries to leave to ease the tension, but Geoffrey insists he stay.Īs they walk to the theater, Yvonne stops to admire the volcano on the edge of the village and Geoffrey suggests they climb it later. Yvonne confides in him about her husband's alcoholism it's gotten worse but she wants the two to reconcile. His half-brother Hugh, a war correspondent, arrives and tells Yvonne that a minor injury from covering the Spanish Civil War has brought him back to Mexico. He resolves to quit drinking, but his newfound sobriety is short-lived. Their initial reunion is terse, Yvonne claims to have sent him letters and expresses the desire to stay with him, even after the divorce. On the Day of the Dead, he wanders the streets of Quauhnahuac in a stupor, observing the morbid festivities and crashing a Red Cross charity ball. He spends his days drinking and awaiting letters from her that never arrive, save a divorce notice signed by her lawyer. In 1938, Geoffrey Firmin is an alcoholic former British consul to Mexico, despondent from the yearlong absence of his wife Yvonne.