World War II has just ended, and in the chaos of Postwar Germany, Private Jim Colling finds that the occupation affords opportunities for significant financial gain to a resourceful American soldier with the ability to speak the local language. When Elizabeth Hamilton, a beautiful American civilian, enlists his aid in the rescue of one of her relatives from Soviet-controlled Poland, Colling reluctantly agrees. What was supposed to be a simple two-week excursion turns out to be a harrowing months-long journey of escape across an Eastern Europe devastated by war, during which Collings courage and initiative are tested to the utmost. Safely back in the American Zone of Germany, Colling returns to barracks life and his previous questionable but profitable pursuits. When he learns of Elizabeths death under mysterious circumstances, Colling realizes that he must embark on a rescue mission of his own behind the Iron Curtain that will pose an even greater challenge to his ingenuity.