The Four Feathers

At a formal ball, Harry celebrates his engagement to Ethne Eustace. The Colonel announces the regiment is being dispatched to Egyptian-ruled Sudan to rescue General Gordon, and Harry resigns his commission. His father disowns him in anger as the news sinks in.

Three of Harry's friends and Ethne present white feathers, labeling him cowardly. Ethne breaks off their engagement, and the social stigma follows Harry as he faces rejection from his closest circle. The upheaval marks the abrupt end of his old life.

Harry learns that his best friend Jack and his former regiment face attack in Sudan, and he resolves to go alone. He strikes an unlikely alliance with Abou Fatma, a mercenary warrior, and disguises himself as an Arab to survive the journey. Together they head toward the Mahdist threat.

Harry and Abou Fatma reach the overrun garrison at Abu-Klea and realize the danger facing the British. Harry begs Abou Fatma to warn his comrades that an attack is imminent. The lines between loyalty and peril blur as they attempt to save their friends.

The British and Egyptian troops pause to bury the dead, and Abou Fatma is captured by Egyptian soldiers. He claims he was sent by a British officer to warn them of the Mahdi's attack, but the men flog him as a suspected spy. The warning goes unheeded and tensions rise.

The Mahdi rebels launch a heavy assault, and the British form a tense defensive square. A group of cavalry, wearing bright red uniforms, rides to reinforce them, only to be revealed as Sudanese fighters disguised as British. Among them is Faversham, causing confusion and casualties.

The battle rages as the British hold the line, and Edward Castleton is killed. Jack attempts a rescue but is blinded when his rifle misfires in the chaos. The line holding the retreat stretches thin as losses mount.

With the order to retreat, Harry finds Jack on the field and protects him after his blinding injury. Jack is sent back to England, and he asks Ethne to marry him, but she neither confirms nor rejects it and discusses the matter with Harry's father. The emotional fallout continues as loyalties shift.

Tom arrives in England to inform Jack that Harry had visited him in Sudan. Harry confirms he sent Abou to warn of the Mahdi attack, and laments that his friends ignored the warning. Abou then tells Harry that Trench survives in the Mahdi prison at Omdurman.

Learning that Trench is imprisoned in Omdurman, Harry resolves to mount a rescue. Abou advises against the perilous plan, insisting the mission is almost certain to end in death. Harry, undeterred, allows himself to be captured and imprisoned at Omdurman.

Harry and Trench endure starvation and backbreaking labor in the Mahdi's prison. After a failed escape attempt, Abou rescues them by giving poison to fake their deaths. A suspicious guard follows the removal of the bodies, and Abou and four guards are killed during the ensuing confrontation.

Abou returns to the desert while Harry escorts Trench back to Britain. Harry is welcomed and acknowledged by his father for his bravery. Ethne reclaims her feather and is revealed to have become engaged to Jack.

Jack learns the truth that Harry was his rescuer when he touches Harry's face. He releases Ethne from their engagement, and a remembrance ceremony precedes a renewed arrangement: Harry and Ethne become engaged again.