In 1965, America sends young soldiers to war in a country they know nothing about. Two tunnel rats form a powerful bond, until one is gravely injured.

Communist guerrillas launch a surprise attack: the Tet Offensive. Americans in the city of Huế find themselves at the center of a bloody battle.

A Vietnamese child's life is torn apart by the war, and a pilot is shot down in enemy territory. Back in the U.S., social unrest takes hold.

With victory no closer, American soldiers begin to lose faith. A nurse wrestles with how to protect her patients, and a wife receives dreadful news.

Soldiers return to a divided America and must come to terms with how the war changed them. Differing beliefs create a rift between best friends.

Ten years later, in 1975, the remaining Americans and fleeing South Vietnamese race against time to escape in the largest helicopter evacuation ever.