Anatole Litvak's Hollywood directorial debut was a remake of his French film The Crew, which was, in turn, based on Joseph Kessel's 1923 novel of the same name.

[2] In World War I France, Lt. Jean Herbillion (Louis Hayward) is watching a musical in Paris, and a lady who calls herself Denise (Miriam Hopkins) sits next to him.

The play is interrupted by an air raid and the theatre is evacuated, but Denise is knocked out in the audience panic, and Jean stays with her in the orchestra pit until she comes to.

But their primary fighter pilot Lt. Claude Maury (Paul Muni) has a bad reputation, flying off on "lone wolf" missions.

Jean attempts to fabricate a relationship with a saloon girl, Florence, and a fight with her previous boyfriend forces Claude to discipline him.

Helene learns the squadron is unexpectedly summoned for a battle, and the high command seeks a volunteer to stay in Paris to train more pilots.

When the boy leaves, Claude admits that he lied, saying Jean called out for his true love, Denise, and contemplates what hurt she must be feeling.

[1] Frank Nugent in his review for The New York Times called the film "... a rather turgid wartime triangle ... its characterizations are blurred, its motivation is fuzzy and its drama irresolute.