But in 1917, under his real name of Schmidt, he was part of a group of Wehrmacht officers who set out to uncover the so-called "secret of Africa" and find the legendary Mines of Kilimanjaro, said to hold a colossal fortune in diamonds.

A mysterious individual, who is aware of Smith's true identity, visits him and attempts to obtain the mine's coordinates through veiled threats of violence, although he is turned down.

When the professor and his inquisitive guest are both murdered in quick succession, Smith's assistant Ed Barclay decides to find out the truth and leaves for Mombasa.

He joins a scientific expedition in search of the mine, but its diamonds are coveted by criminals and by Nazis who intend to use them to finance the Third Reich's impending war effort.

[5] However, despite spending the entire production budget, he delivered less than half of the required footage, and omitted the bulk of the action scenes, leaving the film in an unreleasable state.

[10] Ballantine Books' Video Movie Guide was less forgiving, rating it a two on a scale of one to five, and complained that "the action is badly choreographed, the music is strident and the historical accuracy is a laugh.