In 1935, an adventurous archaeologist narrowly escapes a Shanghai nightclub brawl and flees the city with his nightclub singer companion and a resourceful young boy. Their escape plane crashes in the Himalayas due to the pilots' betrayal, forcing the trio to make their way across a snowy landscape to safety. The group stumbles upon an impoverished village in northern India, where the desperate villagers beseech them to retrieve a sacred stone stolen by an ancient cult. Moved by the villagers' plight, the trio sets off on a quest to find the stone and the missing children of the village, who have also been taken by the cult.

The adventurers make their way to the opulent but ominous Pankot Palace, which they discover is connected to the cult. While investigating the palace at night, they uncover a hidden underground temple where the malevolent cult engages in dark rituals. The cult, led by a sinister priest, worships the Hindu goddess Kali with fanatic zeal and has been responsible for the abductions. The archaeologist and his companions soon find themselves entangled with the cult's dangerous and mystical practices, and they must confront the evil that resides within the Temple of Doom if they are to recover the sacred stone and the missing children.