In 1973, Colonel James T. Cooper volunteers to rescue Americans from a Vietnamese prisoner of war (POW) camp. Although Vietnamese Communists claim they have no American prisoners, the U.S. president and the pentagon believe otherwise. Col. Cooper has only four days to complete his mission. On the fifth day, a ceasefire is scheduled to go into effect, and the POWs will be reclassified as “missing in action” (MIA), making them harder to identify. At the end of the fourth day, helicopters will arrive at a nearby coastal location to transport everyone to safety. Approaching the POW camp, Col. Cooper gives orders to several helicopters to strafe the target. American soldiers land in nearby rice fields and fire on the Vietnamese, but quickly retreat when enemy soldiers bombard them with mortar shells. The soldiers return to the helicopters carrying their wounded, unaware that their comrade, Teague, has been shot in the back. When Col. Cooper notices Teague is missing, he orders the squadron to leave without him. After finding Teague, Cooper carries him on his back, and tosses grenades as he runs to meet a helicopter hovering over the rice paddies. When the helicopter is destroyed by a Vietnamese rocket launcher, Cooper is forced into the jungle. Cooper keeps Teague’s crucifix after the soldier succumbs to his wounds, and the Vietnamese capture him. Captain Vinh parades Cooper in front of the other POWs before locking him in a wooden-slatted cage in the river. When Capt. Vinh’s superiors discover that Cooper has been captured, they order him sent to Hanoi, where he can be exploited as a political pawn. Cooper is placed in a cage with other Americans and convinces them to escape, explaining that rescue helicopters are expected to arrive in four days. Later, Capt. Vinh warns Cooper that he will “disappear” if he goes to Hanoi, but has a chance at freedom if he helps the captain reunite with relatives in Miami Beach, Florida. Since the captain is not interested in saving the other Americans, Cooper refuses. Capt. Vinh shoots an escaped American prisoner to change Cooper’s mind, but the colonel holds firm. Vinh acquiesces, and a gasoline truck containing Cooper and the American prisoners leaves the camp. At a border crossing, Vinh shoots a suspicious guard, and a chase ensues as the convoy makes its way over the border. Vinh is knocked unconscious from an explosion while Cooper and Sparks seize weapons from border patrol guards. The North Vietnamese Army approaches and Cooper blows up the gasoline truck, destroying a bridge and an enemy tank. While hiding from enemy soldiers on river patrol, Cooper discovers a chest filled with stolen jewelry that Vinh planned to take to America, and transfers it to a knapsack. At night, Cooper and Sergeant Jonston steal boats to transport the squadron to the rescue point. Capt. Vinh attempts to retrieve gold bars hidden in his jeep, before Sparks drives away in the vehicle. Vinh pursues him onto a road filled with refugees traveling on foot. On the river, the soldiers abandon the boats to avoid going over a waterfall, but one does not escape in time. Sparks detours into the jungle, crashes the jeep in a river, and realizes the jewelry and gold bars are missing. As Cooper and his men follow the river on foot, they come upon American soldiers who have been separated from their unit during a firefight on “Radar Hill.” Cooper wants to rescue the rest of the unit, but Sgt. Jonston fears they would miss their rendezvous with the helicopters. Sparks wanders into a village bar, and Vinh follows as the American joins a prostitute in her room. Haunted by traumatic memories of the war, Sparks prefers to be alone and forces the girl to leave. Vinh enters and demands his valuables, but Sparks blames Cooper for the theft. Cooper charges up Radar Hill, ordering the Americans to retreat. When the Vietnamese surround the area, Jonston and the POWs arrive by truck and take control of the situation. While his countrymen escape, Cooper rolls a portable gasoline tank down the hill, triggering a series of explosions. Vinh appears, threatening to detonate grenades in each hand unless his gold and jewelry are returned. Cooper wrestles a grenade from Vinh’s hand, and impales him on a metal spike on the back of the truck. Sparks appears on a stolen motorcycle and throws himself on Vinh’s live grenade. The soldiers run to meet the helicopters, and Jonston loads Sparks’s body onto the aircraft. As the helicopter rises into sky, Cooper and his men breathe a collective sigh of relief.