The sherpas have been used as guides, cooks, porters and Jack-of-all-trades in nearly all the Himalayan expeditions this century. However they never seem to appear in any mountaineering documentary films except as a romantic background. The film follows a group of British climbers who leave Kadmandu in Nepal to attempt a new attack on Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world. The whole event is narrated by those recluted to serve the westeners and watch the climb from below instead of from above as usual.
When a quarrel breaks out over the lack of rice which has to be rationed, it becomes difficult to reach an understanding. The incident reveals the complexity of the divers motivations, often exactly the opposite, among the members of a Himalayan expedition.