The year is 1943. The war is raging between the Germans and the Allies in North Africa. A truck with a Czech crew, Lieutenant Navara and six soldiers, escapes from the Foreign Legion fortress. Their aim is to reach the Allies and fight against Nazism. The truck is destroyed by a German army plane, which is hit by enemy fire in its turn. One Czech soldier dies in the attack, the driver is badly wounded, and Navara has serious burns on his face. The group has very little water and must reach an oasis that is 60 km away.