A war hero tries to help a kill-crazy private during the Korean War.

Each night during the fighting in Korea, U. S. A. Pvt. Raymond Endore blackens his face, sneaks into enemy territory, kills a Chinese Communist guard with his stiletto, and then performs a mock Indian war dance over the corpse. A loner among the other members of his platoon, Endore has as his only companion Charlie, an 8-year-old Korean war orphan. Endore's unhealthy influence on Charlie is challenged by a replacement, Pvt. Roy Loomis, and the two men engage in a bitter struggle to dominate him. When the cease-fire order arrives and the GI's start a mild celebration, Loomis sees Endore sneak away for his nightly ritual, and he notifies his superior, Captain Pratt. Together, they go in search of the now psychopathic Endore. They find him, with Charlie, holed up in a caved-in bunker. Endore attacks Pratt and Loomis with his stiletto, and Pratt has no choice but to shoot him. Little Charlie looks at Endore's lifeless body, claps his hands to his ears, and runs off into no man's land.