Plot Summary

In the Sahara, at an oil pipeline pumping station belonging to Medina Oil Company, five technicians man the facility. Kramer, a German, is the foreman. Two Brits, Fletcher and Macey, and Santos, a Hispanic, are the other employees. The fifth man, a German named Martin, arrives as a replacement for another man, possibly killed in a work accident, whose dead body is shipped out in a coffin in the beginning. The replacement worker is picked up in the nearest town by a company shuttle truck that also delivers mail, food, fuel and supplies to the pumping station. It's a three-day ride from town to the station. Being isolated, the arrival of visitors and supplies to the station is a real treat to the workers. After the replacement man's arrival and the mandatory introductions, the crew continues its routinely monotonous existence. During their time off work, the technicians fantasize about women, trade stories from their pasts, play poker or annoy each other with irritating behaviors. They live in various shacks and sheds and take their meals together in the mess. A local, who only speaks Arabic, is their man-servant and cook. One day, their monotony is interrupted by the arrival of an American divorced couple in an automobile. Their car crashes into empty fuel drums at night. The woman inside the car, Catherine, is a poster blonde bombshell. Her companion, ex-husband Jimmy, is hurt during the car crash. Catherine explains to the workers that her ex-husband cannot accept their divorce and tried to kill both of them in a car crash. He always wanted her back but she refused to be more than friends with him. The station's radioman contacts the oil company's offices and asks for an ambulance to be sent to the pumping station to pick up the unexpected American guests. The foreman offers his room to Catherine while he bunks with a worker in a different shack. During the following days, while waiting for the ambulance, the workmen stare at bombshell Catherine during meals and fantasize about the uninhibited American woman. Aware of the effect she has on the isolated men, Catherine uses her charms to tempt them. Some try to court her and bed her. Some succeed, others fail miserably. The station's foreman becomes almost possessive and jealous of her, as if she was his wife. Catherine's ex-husband, convalescing in the infirmary shack, often begs her to be his again. He even gives her permission to sleep with other men, as long as she doesn't leave him for another man. Her presence creates jealous tensions between men. The foreman declares himself in-love with her and offers to quit his job and run away with her. But Catherine is non-committal and flirts with several workers. During the hot days, she provocatively sun-tans in a bra and a skimpy skirt. This inflames the crew, especially the foreman. Rebuked on several occasions and with just one day remaining before the ambulance's arrival, the wounded ex-husband decides to act.—nufs68