During the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, an assorted group of refugees, including an American soldier, an Army nurse, a priest and a group of local children, try to make their getaway aboard a rattletrap, creaky bus.

Roy Stitch was the best collector his Uncle Norman had ever seen, but when an unforgivable act is committed, Roy is pushed into the depths of depression, unable to perform on the job. Trapped in a world of brutality and deception, Roy must now choose between loyalty to his family or control of his own destiny.