Ho Chi Minh and General Giap are ready to attack the French along the "Highway of Death" in Vietnam near the border with China. They have learned that the French are going to retreat from the post at Cao Bang. They hope to catch the French Foreign Legionnaires in the open along with a support unit moving up from Hanoi. For Ho and Giap this battle must be won. For the French the battle is a matter of life and death.