In 1856, Townsend Harris (John Wayne) is sent by President Franklin Pierce to serve as the first U.S. Consul General to Japan, following the treaty written by Commodore Matthew Perry two years before. Accompanied only by his translator-secretary, Huesken (Jaffe), Townsend comes ashore at the town of Shimoda, Shizuoka, as specified in the treaty as the location for an American consulate.