A confused editor, Mr. Salter (Denholm Elliott), acting on the orders of his much feared 'boss', Lord Copper (Donald Pleasence), tells William Boot (Michael Maloney) to cover the ongoing war as the correspondent for the Beast.

Boot normally writes about British country life, but is too timid, and worried about losing his job for good, to say otherwise when he is ordered overseas.

The journalists stick together, drinking and trying to pass time, but they watch each other jealously for signs that someone may have a story to send home.

However, Lord Hitchcock, the correspondent for the Daily Brute, is noticeably absent, and this sends the reporters on an insane quest into the desert in the hope of finding the sought-after 'scoop'.

The story is full of bizarre characters: an insane Swedish diplomat who goes berserk when he drinks too much absinthe, the mysterious Mr. Baldwin (Herbert Lom), and a German woman who claims she somehow or other lost her husband.