When an aspiring surgeon is turned down for a fellowship, she takes a temporary position working as a GP in a small Alaskan town in an effort to boost her résumé.

The German war machine is in retreat. Two American M 18 tank destroyers are sent to root out a die hard group of Nazis holed up in the Harz Mountains.

This WW2 psychological drama plays out at Christmas. US GIs hold an isolated cabin in the Ardennes against a handful of Germans cut off from their main force. Combat-weary and short of rations, both sides are determined to survive.