Rock Hudson gives a perfect performance as Colonel Dean Hess, a World War II pilot who launches an air attack that inadvertently obliterates a German orphanage. After the war, Hess becomes a minister and tries desperately to deal with the guilt he retains from the bombing. When the Korean War erupts, Hess learns about hundreds of Korean children left orphaned by the fighting and reenlists. He flies missions and trains pilots and, hoping for redemption, founds an orphanage.