Story of the German battleship Graf Spee that had been slipped out of German waters just before war was declared in order to disrupt the British convoy routes in the Atlantic. As the Graf Spee was severly hit during a battle with several smaller British vessels, captain Langsdorff decides to put into the neutral habour of Montevideo. Eventually he has to decide whether to wants to stand his ground in a losing battle against the waiting British ships led by Commodore Harwood`s Ajax or to scuttle the Graf Spee and save the lives of his crew.