An hijacked DC-3 carrying a diverse group of travelers crashes in a remote Himalayan valley and is followed by rescue to a hidden sanctuary, a place called Shangri-La that sits like a temperate paradise among the snow and stone. Here, health is flawless, the years seem to stretch in slow, peaceful arcs, and the inhabitants live with a timeless cheer. The newcomers settle into the valley’s rhythms, guided by a clear sense of purpose and tradition, while the landscape itself wears a serene, almost enchanted calm.
Richard Conway, Peter Finch, a United Nations Peace Negotiator, quickly emerges as the group’s steady organizer and moral center. He is drawn to Catherine, Liv Ullmann, a schoolteacher whose parents perished while hiking in the mountains, deepening the sense of purpose and responsibility that defines his stay. Among the others is Sally Hughes, Sally Kellerman, a photographer struggling with addiction who nearly loses hope, but begins a journey toward inner peace under the patient guidance of the valley’s lamas, Chang and To-Lenn. There is also Sam Cornelius, George Kennedy, an industrialist who uncovers gold in a local river; Sally encourages him to shift his focus from potential smuggling to using his engineering gifts to improve irrigation for Shangri-La’s farmers.
Harry Lovett, Bobby Van, a lighthearted comic and song-and-dance man, brings humor and warmth to the children of Shangri-La, offering moments of joy amid the group’s adjustment. George Conway, Michael York, Richard’s younger brother, becomes entangled in a love story of his own, for he falls for Maria, a dancer whose presence in the valley has its own time-bound frailty. Maria, Olivia Hussey, has lived in Shangri-La for decades, arriving there as a twenty-year-old who has aged with the valley’s longevity; if she ever leaves, she would revert to her true age, an idea that clothes every vow and choice with weight.
Chang, John Gielgud, and To-Lenn, James Shigeta, gently explicate the valley’s creed: moderation in all things, simplicity, and communal living. These guiding principles shape how the newcomers come to understand their surroundings and themselves, even as romantic and personal loyalties tug at Richard, Catherine, Maria, and the others.
When the High Lama, Charles Boyer, dies, Richard is summoned and told a truth that both astonishes and terrifies him: the valley has chosen him to succeed as its leader. Yet in the night, George and Maria urge Richard to reject what the High Lama and Chang have taught, insinuating that the paradise is a lie and that leaving might be the right path. Richard departs, leaving behind Catherine in the wake of doubt and upheaval.
Outside the safety of Shangri-La, the world’s harsh weather follows quickly. A blizzard roars in, an avalanche buries the guides, and the party is driven apart. Maria ages rapidly and dies, a poignant symbol of the valley’s hold, while George, overwhelmed by grief, falls to his death in a treacherous ravine. Richard, broken and alone, ends up in a hospital in the Himalayan foothills; the United Nations discovers that he survived and sends a rescue party to repatriate him to the Western world. Yet Richard cannot fully abandon the mountains or the call of Shangri-La. He escapes the rescue and returns to the snow and peaks, where, at last, he finds the hidden portal to the valley once more, a doorway to the life and lessons that await beyond the known world.
