Sometimes it takes a troublemaker to do the dirty jobs in the Army. Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin) is to but together a team who has nothing to lose, as they are already convicted felons serving life sentences or on death row, to parachute in behind enemy lines on the eve of D-day. Their job - sneak into a camp where many German officers are taking a little time off and kill as many as possible causing general mahem for the Germans so they can't respond well on D-Day. These men, many who have lost the love and faith of everyone in their lives are being given one more chance to redeem themselves. Will they fail or succeed at being heros?