Inghilterra. A Cheltenham College, una scuola privata, si celebrano i soliti riti e le solite celebrazioni. Ma vige anche la legge non scritta dell'omertà rispetto alle ingiustizie e agli abusi subiti dagli studenti. Uno di questi, Mick Travis, aiutato da altri suoi due compagni, decide di ribellarsi a questi soprusi, organizzando una sanguinosa rivolta nei confronti di docenti e studenti.

The film is told in three acts, beginning with a historical background of Japan's student movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, mostly using archive footage and a narrator. The second act follows the formation of the group to their mountain training camps in the southern Japanese Alps. It emphasizes the dogmatic (and eventually hypocritical) bullying of the group by Mori and Nagata, with 12 members being killed for infractions as small as improperly cleaning a gun, wearing make-up, and kissing. The third act shows the splitting up of the group after two members run off. It follows one group of five members to Karuizawa and a hostage-taking and police standoff known as the Asama-Sansō incident.

In 19th century France, an escaped convict seeks redemption while caring for a young woman whose mother he once protected, and aligning himself with a band of student revolutionaries.

"The Invasion of the Student Union" - Stockholm, Sweden, May 24th. It all started as a regular student meeting, evolved into a mass-meeting and an invasion of the house, with all ended three days later. The students were primarily upset regarding a draft about a changed curriculum in higher education. They also pursued various political dogmas. The angry students called out for the responsible minister of the government. This happened to be Olof Palme. He arrived at the mass-meeting where he suffered much criticism.