The film focuses on life in a World War II German penal battalion camp somewhere in Russia. The convicts include a heroic doctor unjustly convicted of avoiding military service, an officer who retreated against orders, and common criminals. It shows their life in the camp, clearing mines, living in trenches on the front line.

A man is accused of murdering his wife. The state prosecutor assumes he did the deed to spend more time with his lover. But the woman in question says that his wife committed suicide in her presence and that the accused is innocent. Despite the objections of the prosecutor, the accused is set free and is found dead shortly thereafter. The prosecutor decides to pursue the case and comes upon a band of criminals, who sell German state secrets. Shortly before the investigation comes to a close, a woman is murdered. When a witness asserts to have seen him near the woman's dead body, the prosecutor himself ends up in court and must now prove his innocence.

'The Oilprince' is an unscrupulous businessman. He looks forward to a lucrative deal with the "Western Arizona Bank'. He sells the bank oil wells at Shelly Lake that do actually not exist. The Oilprince learns that the colonists would like to settle at Shelly Lake. So The Oilprince exchanges the scout of the settlers by one of his minions to give them another route. But soon The Oilprince has to recognize that he has not counted on Winnetou, the righteous leader of the Apaches, and his blood brother Old Surehand.