Sam Hunter, an American photojournalist, is ostensibly covering the Pope's visit to the South American country of San Pedro. But Sam's real goal is to track down the elusive revolutionary leader Marcos and bring back an exclusive interview. Sam quickly gets into trouble with the repressive military regime of the dictator Mendosa, which controls San Pedro with an iron grip. Nevertheless, Sam heads off to the mountains to find Marcos. On his way, he meets the radiantly beautiful Dr. Luisa Suarez, a doctor committed to the impoverished mountain peasants. An awakening volcano and the best efforts of a government death squad do not stop Sam from reaching Marcos, and he becomes sympathetic to the cause... documenting it with his photos. In a tumultuous climax, revolution and the volcano erupt simultaneously, as Sam struggles to get his revealing photos out to the front pages of the world's newspapers.