The life and career of Erwin Rommel and his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler.

Tie Kairoon on Billy Wilderin ohjaama yhdysvaltalainen vakoilujännäri vuodelta 1943. Toisen maailmansodan aikaiseen aavikkohotelliin sijoittuvassa elokuvassa sotamarsalkka Erwin Rommelilta yritetään urkkia salaisia tietoja.

During the second world war, two British officers, Brand and Leith, who have never seen combat are assigned a vital mission. Their relationship and the operation are complicated by the arrival of Brand's wife, who had a tryst with Leith years earlier.

In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.

The story of a group of American commandos assigned to kidnap General Rommel. But the soldiers are caught by the Germans who decide to use their plan against them. Replacing the American soldiers with German soldiers, and with the help of a fake "kidnapped" Rommel, they plan to kill General Eisenhower