A priest arrives at a mission-post in China accompanied by a young native girl who has joined him along the way. His job is to relieve the existing priest, who is now too old and weak to continue with the upkeep of the church. However, Communist soldiers arrive at the mission and seize it as a command post. Their leader rapes the native girl and impregnates her, only later to realize that Communism is no good for him. In the end, the foursome flee to the border, but are pursued by Communist forces along the way.

William Holden
as Father O'Banion

Clifton Webb
as Father Bovard

France Nuyen
as Siu Lan

Athene Seyler
as Sister Agness

Martin Benson
as Kuznietsky

Edith Sharpe
as Sister Theresa

Robert Lee
as Chung Ren

Marie Yang
as Ho San's Mother

Andy Ho
as Ho San's father

Burt Kwouk
as Ah Wang
CinemaSerf
Clifton Webb is quite effective here as a catholic priest "Fr. Bovard" who must reconcile his rather optimistically dogmatic faith with the arrival of his more worldly and pragmatic assistant "Fr. O'Banion" (William Holden) and the rise of the Communist party as exemplified by his former student "C...