The narrative follows two young American veterans and their companions who travel through Korea and Manchuria as conflict erupts between Russia and Japan. They pursue a commercial mystery, witness and take part in naval engagements and land campaigns around fortified ports, river crossings, and major battles, endure captures, escapes, and espionage, and at times serve alongside Japanese forces. Interwoven episodes depict the logistics and strategy of modern warfare, the physical and moral strains of campaigning, and the bonds of comradeship that sustain the protagonists through skirmishes, sieges, and a climactic confrontation before Liao-Yang.