Captain Kyle Cameron, a Canadian not overly impressed by discipline and diplomacy, dismisses both and loses half of his British Lancers in a battle to maintain their hold on India's Khyber Pass. Cameron incurs the wrath of his superiors---small wonder considering the KIA count---when he violates Afghan neutrality in pursuit of the guerrillas. But he has been duped. Seems that the evil Russians have been financing some guerrilla warfare in hopes of provoking a border incident and thusly justifying a move into neutral Afghanistan, the key to British-held India. Chief plotters are Captain Ahmed Shir, s "friendly" Afghan border guard and Prince Ishak Kahn, a sheik being held in protective custody by the British. Cameron, more than a little bit irked, gets himself thrown out of the regiment (on purpose for plot reasons), joins up with the plotters and wrecks them from within.