Havana, Cuba. 1959. A tropical island paradise is on the brink of revolution. Robert Dapes (Sean Connery), a cynical British mercenary, comes to the country at the request of one of Batista's most corrupt functionaries, General Bello (Martin Balsam). But once there, Dapes finds himself unable to ignore the brutality and depravity of the Batista regime - and unable to resist Alexandra Pulido (Brooke Adams), an old lover now married to a wealthy Cuban landowner. Surrounded by volatile guerilla fighters and the human vultures present at all coups, he must come to terms with his shifting views if he has any thought of getting out...alive.