Captured by the communists in Korea, Sergeant Raymond Shaw has been secretly brain-washed and programmed. Now he will kill and kill on command; then have no memory of having killed, or even of having had the thought of killing. Thus he can feel no guilt. Feeling no guilt, he has no fear of being caught. And so, feeling neither hesitation, guilt nor fear, Sergeant Raymond Shaw will always be a normal, sober, productive and even upstanding citizen - on the surface.