Marlon Brando's cinematic debut, in which he plays Lieutenant Ken Wilocek, who is left paralyzed from the waist down after being wounded in combat
Since there is almost no hope for recovery, the veteran falls into a severe depression. To distract Ken from his dark thoughts, Dr. Brock moves him into a ward with former soldiers suffering from similar injuries. Meanwhile, Ellen, Ken's fiancée whom he had pushed away after his injury, shows up at the hospital. Together with the doctor, she soon succeeds in reawakening in the young man the will to live.