During a desert battle, Hitchcock is badly wounded. Troy decides to risk taking him to a nearby German field hospital to save his life as their own hospital is too far away. Upon arriving at the hospital, he and Moffitt nearly pull off the masquerade, except for a paranoid patient - Captain Friedrich - who tells everyone they are American spies. No one believes him, but during the delay, the doctor notices a tattoo on Hitch's arm from Ft. Benning, Ga. Troy forces him, at gunpoint, to finish the operation. They escape in a hail of gunfire after the surgery.

Using his fluent German, knowledge of Arabian lore, and disguised as a German officer, Sgt. Moffitt infiltrates Colonel Schweiger's headquarters to decipher and destroy an ancient map detailing a lost oasis deep in the desert with an ancient water source. Meanwhile, Sgt. Troy must overwatch the mission with orders to kill Sgt. Moffitt if he is discovered and captured. This is, of course, precisely what then happens. Troy faces the decision to kill his comrade and friend or find some way to disobey his orders and rescue the mission.