Adventure drama about a man who travels to post-colonial Africa to visit his brother, only to find he has been killed by a Kenyan rebel group. When Alan Howard (Dirk Bogarde) arrives in Africa, he soon learns his brother has been killed by the Mau Mau, a group of rebels who are fighting against the newly imposed rule of the white man. Enraged by his brother's murder, Alan decides to stay and put all his energy into fighting the Mau Mau, who he now considers his enemy. However, along the way he falls in love with a neighbouring settler called Mary (Virginia McKenna), who disagrees with his abhorrence of the native people, and tries to put an end to his prejudices.