While French ethnologist François Bizot is working on the restoration of the Angkor temples, he is taken prisoner by the Khmer Rouge. Detained in a camp in the middle of the jungle, Bizot is accused of spying for the CIA. His only hope of survival is to convince Douch, the camp leader, that he is innocent. While the Frenchman discovers the reality of the Khmer Rouge, an indefinable bond develops between the prisoner and his jailer...