A man will fight for only three things - for a woman, for himself and for a better world. In 1941, cynical Johnny Williams, a reckless and self-seeking newsreel cameraman, is detained by military officials in Japanese - occupied China. They offer him a tempting sum of money to spy for them.He manages to escape with an American couple, and the trio wind up in Mandalay, where he is captivated by a beautiful Chinese woman, Haoli Young. One day Haoli abruptly disappears. A devastated Johnny learns that she and her father returned to Kunming where they run a school for orphans. And Johnny knows that the Japanese are about to bomb Kunming...