Hell and High Water

An off-screen voice-over announces Montel's mysterious disappearance and the implication that he and several Western scientists defected behind the Iron Curtain. A small group of international scientists, businessmen, and statesmen recruit U.S. Navy commander Adam Jones to lead a mission. They offer a substantial payment and insist the submarine be armed, with permission to hire former crew. Montel travels with his assistant Denise Gerard to join the effort.

Jones lands in Tokyo to meet Montel and the international circle backing the mission. They outline the plan to follow the Communist freighter Kiang Ching and to gather proof of the alleged base. Montel travels with Denise Gerard as part of the team, and Jones is assured he can hire former Navy shipmates.

News arrives that Kiang Ching has sailed, forcing action. Jones protests that the submarine's torpedo tubes have not been inspected or tested, but there is no choice but to pursue. Montel agrees to the plan and accompanies the operation with Denise.

Kiang Ching is detected at sea and a chase ensues. A Red Chinese submarine fires torpedoes at Jones's boat; unable to return fire with untested tubes, Jones dives to the sea bottom to hide. After hours of tension, he surfaces and rams the enemy sub, sinking it.

Jones and Montel follow Kiang Ching to a first island and land to investigate for proof of a base. They find only insignificant radioactivity and engage Red Chinese soldiers, ending with the capture of a pilot named Ho-Sin. They learn of another island that could be the target.

Back aboard the submarine, Ho-Sin is held captive and the crew learns there is a second island that could be the target. The team prepares for further pursuit while chasing more intel.

A violent storm en route to the second island injures Montel; he asks Jones to take Denise in his place, shifting leadership and responsibility. Denise grows more directly involved as the mission continues.

Denise detects an extremely high level of radioactivity aboard and is forced to shoot and kill a Chinese soldier who stumbles upon her. Tension rises as the team presses toward the target while the clock ticks toward the next stage of the plan.

To extract information, the crew tricks Ho-Sin by sending Chin Lee, disguised as a Chinese uniformed cook, into the room. Ho-Sin realizes the deception and beats Chin Lee to death before Jones can intervene, ending that interrogation moment. The captive later reveals the bomber’s trajectory and timing.

Jones goes ashore to watch for the bomber's takeoff, while Montel secretly goes ashore in his place to signal the attack. At Montel's signal, the submarine surfaces and the crew opens fire with every weapon aboard.

On fire, the submarine crashes, detonating the atomic bomb and obliterating the island. The attack marks the culmination of the mission as the island is wiped out.

A closing voice-over repeats Montel's line about each man's own reason for living and his price for dying as the mushroom cloud rises behind him. The mission ends with a stark meditation on sacrifice and the costs of espionage.