Among the towering peaks of the Andes a non-scheduled passenger plane is hi-jacked and forced down. The surviving passengers, stranded at 16,000 feet, embark on a perilous descent, only to find that they are trapped by a formidably armed hostile force, whose target is one particular V.I.P., his beautiful niece and personal aide.
As the ill-assorted party realise the odds at stake and the strength of the forces against them, two breath-taking stories unfold. In the valley a desperate delaying action is fought with ingenious weapons; while in the high regions of rock and glacier and fatal mountain sickness, three men - ill-equipped and inexperienced in mountaineering - set out on a fearful race to save their companions.