The action takes place in 1937 in Shanghai. A soldier, who is about to be sent to the front, meets a young girl under a bridge during a raid by Japanese bombers. They agree to meet after the end of the war, knowing nothing about each other. Ten years pass, a woman, a singer performing in a nightclub, takes under her guardianship a young girl who has just arrived in the city from the countryside. The girl falls in love with a man who lives a floor above, who writes songs. Later we learn that the man is the same soldier.

1945. South Atlantic. John Stryker is a professional Marine and a tough commander who demands unquestioning obedience to his orders. Under his command comes a platoon of new recruits from the United States, who will have to undergo training before the future landing on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima and destroy enemy defenses.

Peaceful farmer Josie Wales is banditically attacked by Northern soldiers during the American Civil War. His wife and child are killed and he, obsessed with revenge, sides with the Southerners. The Southerners are defeated, but Josie does not lay down his arms. Now he is an outlaw pursued by a gang of killers. The lone vigilante in his dangerous journey will be accompanied by a group of outcasts, whom Wales will protect in the upcoming skirmishes.