Billy is an innocent, naive seaman in the British Navy in 1797. When the ship's sadistic master-at-arms is murdered, Billy is accused and tried.
An immature young man from Middle America grows to manhood after a cross-country journey and his military service in World War I.
In 1944, two American spies, posing as priests, infiltrate German occupied Rome to relay information to HQ but can only communicate via pigeons due to the imposed radio silence.