Former childhood playmates Peter McKenzie (Rock Hudson) and Kimani (Sidney Poitier) have maintained their deep friendship despite differences in race, class and tradition. Then the bloody Mau Mau uprising convulses their magnificent homeland. And the men discover that even the strongest bond may not be stronger than the beat of drums, the crack of rifles and the cry for freedom. Based on Robert C. Ruark's best seller, featuring African locales and scripted and directed by Richard Brooks ("Lord Jim," "In Cold Blood"), this unsparing and perceptive work is both a powerful indictment of war and a powerfully understanding look at the injustices that drive men to war. Says Winston Churchill in the film's prologue: "The problems of East Africa are the problems of the world".