Hal Wayne (Norman Shepherd) steals £10,000 from the bank he works at. He hijacks an aeroplane, the Golden Eagle, which crashes in remote bushland in Australia's Snowy Mountains. Of the survivors, Wayne steals the remaining food and leaves the others to perish. He goes mad in the wilderness and throws his money away. He is found by a prospector and returned to civilisation. After three years of silence he eventually confesses to the police.