Alain Lefèvre is a French boxer in 1925 in
Marseille, France. His brother Maxim has asked for him to throw a fight so that both can live on the money. Lucien Galgani, the mobster who forced him to do so, requests him to do it in the second round. Galgani's girlfriend, Katrina, is Alain's ex-fiancée. He had left her standing at the altar, but Katrina forgives Alain, and the two hatch a plan to run off to America together. Alain does not take a dive in the fight and instead defeats his opponent Julot Gaultier. Just as the escape plan is about to succeed, Maxim is killed, and Katrina is captured by Galgani's men. Alain shoots and kills Galgani's brother Rene. Desperately needing a new escape plan, he signs up for the
French Foreign Legion and is shipped to North Africa to help defend France against a native
Berber resistance of
Rif warriors, who are led by Kamel Krifa as
Abd el-Krim. Along the way, Alain meets some new friends, including Luther Williams, an
African-American who has fled injustice in the
Southern United States since he felt that he would be well treated by returning to Africa; Mackintosh, a former
British Army major who was dishonorably discharged because a gambling problem caused him to pass bad checks; and Guido Rosetti, a naive
Italian boy who wishes to impress Anna, his fiancée back home, by returning as a hero. Alain realises that the only real way to escape from the Legion is to survive the term of service but that it is outnumbered by the rebels. After marching for days, the troops arrive at a small pond, but before getting their full share of water, they are ambushed and shot down by the Berbers. Among the dead is Guido. After leaving, the survivors, including Alain, go to the Legion's fort. Meanwhile, Galgani has sent his hired thugs into the Legion to find Alain. After a few days, they find him in the fort. After the commander Captain Rousselot sends Alain, Mackintosh and the others to guard the fort, Mackintosh reveals that he had been sent to kill Alain as part of a deal to reimburse his father, who was left penniless by gambling debts. Before he can do so, however, they are chased down by the natives, who advance towards the fort. Sergeant Steinkampf sends Luther in a dangerous mission to infiltrate the natives' camp. Alain, knowing that it will be suicide, demands to go along but is ordered not to do so. Before leaving, Luther gives him his harmonica as a symbol of friendship. As Alain later guards the fort outside, he sees Luther returning without his disguise and the Berbers following behind him. As they begin attacking, Alain decides to kill Luther to give him a quick death. Very swiftly, the rest of the Berbers take down the Legionnaires. As Viktor, one of Galgani's thugs, is about to kill Alain, Galgani gets shot down by Mackintosh, who remorsefully reveals that Katrina has managed to escape from Galgani and go to America, as she had always wanted. Alain, as a token of appreciation, gives Mackintosh a single bullet to let him commit a merciful suicide. In the end, only Alain is alive after the battle. Kamel Krifa as Abd el-Krim, seeing Alain's courage and determination, allows him to live and tells him to inform his superiors what is waiting for them if the French continue their colonization. Now standing as the only survivor of the ordeal, Alain is left alone in the desert as he remembers Katrina and his former friends. ==Cast==