Serge Menessier has been paid to shoot a reportage on his ex-wife's depression. Now remarried, he has accepted the job to pay his debts and maybe because he is still in love with her, a famous actress whose career he contributed to launch.

During the Indochina War, Lieutenant Perrin and his men, French soldiers, hold a remote post. They lived in harmony with the local population. Over time, they have managed to forge a peaceful relationship with the villagers. The French have built a school and a dispensary. But all their efforts are suddenly wiped out when Viet Minh resistance fighters storm their post.