Disillusioned with charity work and tired of money problems, second-generation New Orleans doctor Jason Kent (Gig Young) accepts a prestigious research appointment in India. But when boxer and childhood friend Joe Piavi (Keenan Wynn) needs money for an eye operation -- and the crooked fight promoter (Ralph Dumke) who owes Piavi turns up dead -- Kent must reconcile his desire for financial stability with his philanthropic birthright and an entire community of friends and patients that needs him.