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While shy Canadian journalist Colin Spence is living in London, he joins the British Army and is stationed in Libya.  There he serves under Sergeant Kelly, a longtime military man who is greatly admired by his men.  Although Kelly takes an interest in Spence and tries to build up his ego, Spence remains unassertive.

One afternoon, Spence remembers a time before the war, when he went with his girlfriend, Valentine Lee, to a party at which they met war correspondent Tom Benedict.  Benedict was a self-assured blowhard who easily impressed Valentine, and Spence soon regreted introducing them.  Back in the desert, Kelly and Spence lead a reconnaissance patrol of fourteen men into the brutal heat.  As they are traveling, Spence again remembers Valentine, who was further won over by Benedict when he impressed her on her birthday.

Spence's thoughts return to the present when the patrol stops for lunch, but before they resume their journey, they are attacked by Italian airplanes.  During the ensuing skirmish, Spence and his men shoot down one of the planes, but it crashes on one of the patrol's trucks, killing eight men.  With only Spence, Symes, Pilcher, Cottrell and Cassidy and himself left, Kelly moves the men onward, but that night, admits to Spence that they are lost.  Spence is frightened when Kelly says that he must assume command if anything happens to him, but Kelly admonishes him to get the patrol home safely.

The next day, a passing British plane warns them that an Italian armored car is ahead.  Hoping to use the car for transportation, Kelly leads the men to it, but his plans go awry when Symes's gun goes off accidentally, and the enemy is alerted to their presence.  Symes is killed during the exchange of gunfire, and Kelly is seriously wounded.  Spence gets the sergeant to cover, where he refuses to listen to Kelly's orders to leave him behind for the good of the group.  While Spence is discussing the situation with the remaining three men, Kelly shoots himself, and the soldiers bury their brave sergeant.  Spence then assumes leadership of the patrol and drives the men hard, as Kelly had instructed him.  While they are walking, Spence's mind drifts back to Valentine, who spent his first leave with him and encouraged him to be more assertive romantically.  Spence's reverie ends when the group finds an oasis, which is held by German soldiers.  While Spence waits for dark, he remembers the last time he saw Valentine, when it appeared that Benedict had completely won her affections.

As darkness falls in the desert, Spence crawls into the oasis and hears Kelly's voice urging him on.  Spence steals food and water, then dismantles the Germans' radio equipment before returning to his men.  There, Spence tells them that they must try to take the German stronghold, explaining that it is the cumulative effect of every single man fighting in every position that will win the war.  Using Spence's strategy, the men split up and engage the enemy during a sandstorm.  Spence is with Cottrell and fights hard until an explosion knocks him out.  Later, Spence awakens in a Cairo hospital, where Cottrell tells him that he was wounded when Cottrell threw a grenade in the enemy munitions dump.  The action was successful, although Cassidy was killed.  Pilcher is recovering in the same hospital, and both Cottrell and Spence have been awarded distinguished conduct medals.

Spence is trying to assimilate the information when Benedict arrives and is his usual sarcastic self.  Suddenly aware of his own strength, and no longer afraid, Spence orders Benedict to send Valentine a telegram saying that he wants to marry her.  Benedict protests, but Spence intimidates him and sends him on his way.  Soon after, Spence, who has been promoted to lieutenant, meets Valentine at a London railway station.  There, Spence once again hears Kelly's encouraging words as he embraces Valentine.