The doomed Chinese city of Shunkien was being systematically destroyed. Japan's war machine was pounding wreckage into ashes—wiping out a city that had thrived since the time of Genghis Khan.

One of the few buildings still standing is the American consulate where one hundred and sixteen US refugees are facing almost certain death, either from high explosives, the ravages of starvation or Asiatic cholera.

Unbeknownst to the refugees, their fate rests in the hands of one Marine—Gunnery Sergeant James Mitchell—and his ability to negotiate two hundred miles of occupied territory in order to bring desperately needed gold and medicine, while overcoming bullets, dive bombers, butchery and his own personal nemesis—alcohol.

Add to these seemingly insurmountable odds, a seductive American fan-dancer who hitches along for the ride and saving the lives of the hostages is far from a fait accompli.