In 1942, a group of British and Dutch women and children attempts to escape before the Japanese troops have invaded Singapure. Their boat is attacked by Japanese airplanes and the survivors are washed ashore on Japanese-held Sumatra. For several years, the women are interned in a grim POW camp where punishments for even minor infractions are extreme. Adrienne Partiger, former doyenne of Singapure high society, founds a choir with the help of a missionary, a Australian nurse and an American, to keep up the spirit of the interned. When singing is not longer allowed, the a cappella chorus dubs itself "a vocal orchestra" and is tolerated — if barely — by the sadistic Japanese commander. Against his intention the women`s performance awakens the compassion thier guards.