During the 1950s, Thomas Fowler (Michael Redgrave) is a British journalist stationed in Vietnam to cover the growing unrest. While in the country, he begins an extramarital affair with a beautiful young Vietnamese woman, Phuong (Giorgia Moll). However, their romance is interrupted by Alden Pyle (Audie Murphy), an idealistic American economist in Vietnam on an aid mission. When Pyle proposes to Phuong, Fowler accuses him of secretly dealing weapons.