Brian Desmond Hurst proved with The Malta Story that he could spin a decent war yarn and with Simba that he could make the most of exotic locations. But he failed to bring those skills to bear on this contrived Second World War drama in which wounded officer Anthony Steel joins with Bedouin sheikh André Morell to confound the Nazis. The romance with Anna-Maria Sandri sits awkwardly alongside the action, while Donald Sinden's clipped bravado as Steel's brother occasionally borders on the comic. The script by Robin Maugham and Bryan Forbes is undistinguished, to say the least.

During the British retreat through Libya, a British officer takes shelter with a group of Arab Bedouin. He marries the chief's daughter. Sometime later, his younger brother, who had believed him to be dead, is informed that he may be alive in Libya - prompting him to set out and search for him.