This Oscar-winning film begins prior to the outbreak of World War II. Nick Condon (James Cagney), the American editor of a Tokyo newspaper, suspects the Japanese military is responsible for the deaths of his two friends. Discovering information about the Tanaka Plan, a Japanese military outline for world conquest, Condon vows to secure the document and get it into the hands of the American military at any cost. Teaming up with a half-Chinese woman, Condon sets out to secure the plans in spite of the problems brought upon him by the Tokyo police, the Japanese High Command, and the traitorous actions of a fellow journalist.