Lyon Gaultier is a paratrooper in the French Foreign Legion, stationed in Djibouti, North Africa. His brother, who is married to an American woman in Los Angeles, is burned alive during a drug deal gone wrong and suffers third-degree burns, dying shortly afterward. Lyon deserts his legion when he finds out they have been withholding letters from his brother's wife and ultimately refuse to let him see his dying brother. He steals a jeep and escapes through the desert, finding work on a tramp steamer headed for the United States Meanwhile, the Legion Commandant travels to Paris, arriving at the government Consulate, where he is told that Lyon's desertion is ranked at low importance with the Los Angeles Police Department, so the Commandant suggests sending two of his own men to bring Gaultier back, which is approved.