Gerald Shepard

Eight American soldiers, commanded by Lt. Eason, are chosen to infiltrate the Ploesti oil field in order to set signal fires to guide Allied bombers to Germany's most closely guarded target of the war. When landing in Roumania, they are supposed to be met by a partisan as their guide, but he has been killed by an Allied air-raid, and they are met instead by his daughter Nitza, who is very hostile to the Americans as she blames them for the death of her father. As they make their way to the oil field, Nitza and Manjack fall in love. He is killed in a skirmish with German troops and, as a dying wish, asks Nitza to continue with the group and help them with their mission. She does, the signal fires are set and Ploesti is destroyed.