After his marriage, Jim Oxford comes to mistakenly believes that his new bride has previously had a lover, a situation he finds so offensive that he deserts her and joins the French Foreign Legion. Stationed in Algeria, he finds himself attracted to Rose, the girlfriend of a brutal Legion officer. Try as he might, he can't resist her and arranges to secretly meet her after hours. However, at the rendezvous, a gunshot rings out and Rose is mortally wounded. Accused of the murder, Jim flees but is shortly thereafter captured and put on trial as a deserter. Complications ensue.