Adapted from the best-selling book of the same name, this drama stars Marlon Brando as Harrison Carter MacWhite, ambassador to Sarkhan, an illusory Southeast Asian country dealing with an uprising of anti-American sentiment and disapproval of its own government. MacWhite underestimates the magnitude of the situation, assuming he'll be able to smooth things over in no time. But he soon realizes that the country's turmoil won't easily be pacified.