Samuel Fuller writes and directs this unsentimental portrait of life for a platoon of weary soldiers in the Korean War. With an American division of 15,000 men trapped and ammunition running low, a plan is hatched to fool the enemy into believing they are still in place while they make a hasty retreat. To do this, a small party is ordered to stand guard while the main troops leave, with a reluctant Corporal Denno (Richard Basehart) soon forced to assume command, as one by one his superior officers are killed.