Lt. Paul Stiger is a top-notch pilot, and because he comes from a poor background and believes he has a meager future, he is also fearless to the point of being foolhardy. His audacity makes him the perfect candidate for a daring, potentially suicidal mission to bomb a German dam in a solo attack flying nothing more than a P-51 fighter plane. While he accepts the mission with his usual cavalier attitude, a winning lottery ticket makes him a rich man overnight - changing his whole outlook in the process. His new lust for the good life threatens to undermine the heedless courage he'll need to carry out the plan.