Golden Earrings

Two packages arrive at a London hotel: a telegram for Quentin Reynolds and a small box for Major General Ralph Denistoun. The telegram is handed to Reynolds, who then passes the package to Denistoun. When Denistoun opens the box, he finds a pair of golden earrings and holds one to his pierced ear, gazing at his reflection in a window.

Denistoun boards a flight from London to Paris and sits next to Reynolds. Reynolds asks why he has kept the reason for his pierced ears a secret for so long. Denistoun begins to recount the extraordinary backstory that the earrings symbolize.

Before the war broke out, Denistoun and Richard Byrd are in Germany, held by a man named Hoff. They plot an escape and plan to meet at Professor Otto Krosigk's home, where Krosigk has developed a poison gas formula. The plan sets the stage for their dangerous mission behind enemy lines.

After splitting up with Byrd, Denistoun meets Lydia, a gypsy woman who helps him travel across the country using her horse and wagon. She disguises him as a gypsy to evade the Nazis and continues toward the regrouping point. The journey with Lydia marks a turning point in his mission.

Denistoun learns that Byrd has been captured by the Germans while trying to reach Professor Krosigk. The stakes rise as their ally is taken, making the escape plan more urgent and perilous.

Hoff and two of his men try to force Byrd to talk with flame. Denistoun reveals himself and shoots all three Nazis, saving Byrd at great personal risk. Byrd, already near death, dies from his injuries.

Lydia and another gypsy named Zoltan help Denistoun dispose of the bodies and guide him toward Professor Krosigk's home. They keep the operation secret while ensuring Denistoun can continue toward the gas formula.

The professor initially does not believe Denistoun's story. A visit from German soldiers convinces him of the authenticity of the tale. He then provides Denistoun with the poison gas formula written on a bill of German cash.

With the formula in hand, Denistoun prepares to leave without revealing his identity to the Germans. The knowledge of the gas formula is now safely entrusted to him and he proceeds to make his escape.

Lydia guides Denistoun to a point on the High Rhine where he can swim across to France with the formula in a special container. He removes his earrings and coat and hands them to Lydia before diving into the river.

After reaching Paris, Denistoun visits the spot where he remembers leaving Lydia years earlier and spots her horse Apple and wagon on the riverbank. He puts the earrings back on and spits three times in the river, following gypsy tradition, before crossing to the Parisian side.

On the far bank, he calls out to Lydia; she is overjoyed to see him. The two get into Lydia's wagon, she places the coat back on him, and they ride off together into a new future.