Starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall! The Duke leads the charge as he tries to help a group of refugees flee Communist China.

Two long years ago, Captain Tom Wilder’s ship was seized by the Communists and he was thrown in a Chinese prison. He does what he can to stay sane, but the long days and nights are taking a toll on him.

One day, a stranger appears in Tom’s jail cell. He doesn’t explain why he is helping Tom; he simply gives him a Russian uniform to wear and leads him to the nearby village of Chiku Shan.

It’s here that Tom learns why he’s been freed from prison. Mr. Tso, a village elder, explains that the people of Chiku Shan have paid to get him out of prison because they need Tom to help them escape from China and flee to Hong Kong.

The villagers have been plotting their escape for some time now. They plan to lure a Chinese patrol boat inside of their harbor and run it aground among the rocks they’ve been building up on the harbor floor. They’ve also been accumulating guns and taking prisoners who might betray them if left behind.

Their means of escape is a stolen 19th century stern wheel boat. This ancient vessel is a flat-bottomed, wood-burning paddle boat that looks like an innocent ferry. They hand Captain Wilder handmade charts, an unreliable magnetic compass, and tell him that they are relying on his experience and memory to help him successfully navigate the Chinese coast.

Although Tom thinks this may be a suicide mission, he’s grown to like these determined people and so he decides to help. He’s also grown to care for the feisty and beautiful American, Cathy Grainger, the daughter of a missionary doctor.

It will take time to get this old paddleboat fixed and properly provisioned for the perilous journey to Hong Kong. But many dangers lurk ahead: Chinese patrols, navy ships, and warplanes obstruct the path to freedom…and there’s a reason this 300-mile stretch of the Formosa Strait is called “Blood Alley.”

Does Captain Wilder have the will, guts, and grit to lead these people – desperate souls longing for freedom – out of danger and into a new and better life?