Private Mizushima, a Japanese soldier, becomes the harp (or ''saung'') player of Captain Inouye's group, composed of soldiers who fight and sing to raise morale in the World War II Burma Campaign. When they are offered shelter in a village, they eventually realize they are being watched by British Indian Army. They retrieve their ammunition, then see the advancing force. Captain Inouye tells the men to sing, laugh and clap, to give the British the impression that they are unaware of their presence. Instead of firing at them, though, the British soldiers begin singing the same melody, "Home! Sweet Home!". Inouye's men learn that the war has ended with the Surrender of Japan, and so they surrender to the British.