Based on S.L.A. Marsall`s account of his Korean War experience, the film stars Gregory Peck as Lt. Joe Clemons, the officer charged with taking the strategically meaningless Pork Chop Hill from the Chinese, while diplomats dither about the terms of peace in Panmunjon. Some of the men under his command, which include Fedderson (George Peppard), Marshall (Martin Landau), Forstman (Harry Guardino) and Velie (Robert Blake), are doubtful about the wisdom of this order, creating a tense atmosphere.