It is 1931. Revolution rocks the British Raj in India and procedures of evacuating foreigners are underway Four individuals are on a plane to Peshawar when, in a twist of irony, their plane is hijacked and their journey to safety becomes one of danger. They subsequently crash-land on the hostile mountains of Tibet.

As British diplomat Hugh Conway, his vice consul Charles Mallinson, American businessman Henry D. Barnard, and English missionary Roberta Blinklow trek through the merciless Himalayas, they find refuge in a lamasery. In the weeks to come, their lives are changed forever in this magical haven called Shangri-La.