Surviving the threat of imminent death at Guadalcanal becomes an obsession for one Marine during World War II. Private Doll (Keir Dullea), recently married, now faces strong chance he will be killed, and without much purpose. Col. Tall (James Philbrook) sees the men as tools to achieve a goal, and Sgt. Welsh (Jack Warden) tries only to give the men a fighting chance to kill before being killed. Doll comes to conclude that he must kill to survive, and he will steal a weapon or do anything immoral to save himself. Human life becomes cheap as Doll becomes hardened to death, and no one can blame a man for what a man does to keep alive.