In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.

General director Strøm will create a large Norwegian industrial company to tame waterfalls and put them in pipes. But also his wife Sylvia, the gifted pianist, must be tamed. However, Strøm discovers that human material is considerably more difficult to process than the forces of nature.