While fighting as a Knight Templar in the Holy Land, Steele discovers the Ark of the Covenant. Unwittingly he is cursed to an eternity of military servitude. Centuries later Steele is fighting in the French Foreign Legion at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Amidst the horrors of war, he comes face to face with his nemesis Jean, a fanatical monk.

Parachuting into Dien Bien Phu on the eve of Operation Castor, Steele and his small unit of Pathfinders come under heavy Viet Minh attack. From the first days of the French Army's attempt to draw the Viet Minh out into the open and crush them until the last desperate hours facing human wave enemy attacks Steele and the men of the Foreign Legion's Parachute Battalion fight against desperate odds.

Can Steele get his men out of the slowly tightening noose? Is there a traitor in their ranks?

Steele keeps the Ark's location secret to prevent the Brotherhood from using its powers for evil purposes. Jean and the Brotherhood will stop at nothing to achieve their aim of world domination even if it means siding with the Viets in order to capture Steele and force him to divulge where the Ark's is hidden.

Based on historical fact Steele's Dien Bien Phu follows the timeline of the great battle.