Air Force test pilot Pike Yarnell reluctantly attends the memorial service for long-dead Donald Beasley, his navigator during the Korean War, recalling in flashbacks their painful days together on a life raft. In Beasley's hometown, Pike is repelled by Donald's wealthy mother's enshrinement of her dead son; bemused at Donald's younger sister Pat's frankly amorous pursuit of him; and increasingly charmed by his attractive widow Christina. What will the final flashback reveal?