Dark of the Sun

In 1964, Congolese President Ubi publicly hires mercenary Bruce Curry to rescue European residents from a mining town threatened by Simbas. Secretly, Curry plans to slip in and steal $50 million in diamonds from a vault. He assembles a crew, including his ally Ruffo, alcoholic Dr. Wreid, and the ex-Nazi Henlein, whose military know-how he believes he needs.

Ubi equips the operation with a steam train and Congolese government troops to reinforce the mission. The plan runs afoul of UN rules, and a United Nations peacekeeping plane attacks the train, damaging it. The clash instantly complicates the mission and foreshadows the trouble ahead.

At a burned-out farmhouse, the group discovers Claire, a traumatized woman who witnessed her husband’s brutal murder by Simbas. Her presence adds a personal stake to the perilous journey and to the looming conflict. The encounter occurs as they move toward the mining town.

Henlein resents Curry's leadership and the diamonds' control, and begins to sow chaos within the group. He casually murders two children he suspects of being Simba spies and then makes advances toward Claire. Curry and Ruffo struggle to restrain him as the situation threatens to explode.

Arriving at the mining town, the mercenaries learn the diamonds are secured in a time-locked vault, delaying their departure. The vault’s mechanism stokes tension and raises the stakes of the extraction. The town sits under the looming threat of Simba forces.

Dr. Wreid insists he cannot abandon a pregnant woman at a nearby mission hospital, arguing that patient care must come first. Curry reluctantly agrees to leave the doctor behind, sacrificing part of the plan to save lives. This decision injects moral ambiguity into the mission’s priorities.

As they wait for the vault to open, Simbas assault the town and station, creating a deadly perimeter. The train eventually begins to depart with the diamonds and most of the Europeans aboard, while small arms fire rages around them. A mortar round destroys the coupling between the last two carriages, foreshadowing disaster.

With the coupling destroyed, the last coach carrying the diamonds rolls back into the Simba-held town as the rest of the train continues on. Curry and Ruffo mount a nighttime mission to retrieve the diamonds, using a Simba disguise to slip into danger. A diversion by surviving Congolese soldiers enables their escape with the diamonds.

While Curry is away securing the diamonds, Henlein exploits the absence to murder Ruffo, wrongly believing he has the loot. Curry returns to discover his friend's death and vows retaliation. The betrayal intensifies the personal stakes of the mission.

Curry pursues Henlein and engages him in a brutal confrontation, ending with Curry killing Henlein after a vicious fight. The traitor is removed as a threat to the diamonds and the Europeans. The immediate danger to the retrieval operation eases, but the cost remains high.

Back at the convoy, Curry reflects on the kind of man he is after the violence and the costs involved. He decides to turn himself in for a court-martial to answer for his actions, accepting the consequences of his choices. The mission’s moral ambiguity culminates in his surrender.