Jean Picard (Errol Flynn) is a convicted criminal who escapes the guillotine when an air raid strikes Paris. On the run in Bordeaux, he is pursued and captured by determined detective Marcel Bonet (Paul Lukas), who has been tracking him for many years. But when the train back to Paris is derailed by saboteurs and the Nazis retaliate by taking innocent hostages, Picard makes Bonet a most unusual offer: Since he is going to die anyway, let him surrender as the saboteur so that the Nazis will free the hostages. Bonet agrees, setting in a motion a surprising turn of events.