When the Japanese invade New Guinea in 1942, Grace Ingram, an Australian member of a scientific expedition, is put in a women's detention camp. She shares her cell with six other women: Janet Cook, a pregnant American teenager; Ann Van Laer, a tightlipped but sympathetic German widow; Claire Oudry, a French waitress; Mai-Lu, a Eurasian nurse; and two other Americans, Mara and Regan. During a bombing raid, Janet's baby is born dead and the humane Captain Oda is killed. Sergeant Takahashi, his sadistic assistant, assumes command of the camp, and a friendly Japanese, Doctor Matsumo, helps the women escape. Mara is recaptured and tortured to death, and Claire and Regan are killed by rifle fire. The surviving four encounter a wounded American flyer, Bill Jackson, who helps them make their way to the beach but dies before they can reach safety. A wealthy planter, Luis Hullman, finds the girls, feigns friendship, and then attempts to hand them over to the Japanese. But the women learn of his plan, kill him, and escape by boat to the Allied lines.