Four low-life crooks as well as their "associate" (Bogart) are en route to Africa, but are stuck in Italy because of their broken down steamer. They plan on making their way down to East Africa to some land rich in uranium and make off with it. While there, Bogart and his wife (Lollobrigida) meet up with a British couple (Jones and Underdown) who plan to run a coffee plantation in Africa... the boat floods and everyone abandons ship. They wind up on shore and are taken in by a violent band of Arabs... and then the adventure really begins!