It s 1941. Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) has requested Army transfer and has ended up at Schofield in Hawaii. His new captain, Dana Holmes, has heard of his boxing prowess and is keen to get him to represent the company. However, Prew is adamant that he doesn t box anymore, so Captain Holmes gets his subordinates to make his life a living hell. Meanwhile Sergeant Warden (Burt Lancaster, Academy Award winner, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Elmer Gantry, 1961) starts seeing the captain s wife, who has a history of seeking external relief from a troubled marriage. Prew s friend Maggio has a few altercations with the sadistic stockade sergeant Fatso Judson, and Prew begins falling in love with social club employee Lorene. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor looms in the distance.