In 1972 Vietnam, American soldiers Frank Rhodes and his wounded comrade, Paul MacGregor, are stranded on a battlefield after a barrage of enemy gunfire forces their rescue helicopter to leave without them. They are now among the 2,500 American soldiers classified as “missing in action.” Frustrated by feeble government efforts to locate the missing soldiers, Frank’s father, Colonel Jason Rhodes, travels to Thailand over the next several years in hope of finding his son. In 1982, Col. Rhodes acquires photographic evidence of Frank’s incarceration at a slave labor camp in northern Laos. He assembles a rescue team comprised of men who fought alongside Frank, with financing from Paul’s father, oil tycoon Harry MacGregor. Joining the team are “Blaster,” a professional surfer with an expertise in explosives, “Charts,” a helicopter pilot in need of a break from his failing marriage, and “Sailor,” a former member of a motorcycle gang. Wilkes, a hand-to-hand combat expert, declines due to the severe trauma he suffered during the war, while Johnson, a hospital administrator, is unwilling to interrupt his successful career. However, both ultimately reconsider and join the expedition. Throughout the process, Jason maintains telephone contact with Harry MacGregor, unaware that government agents are monitoring their conversations. Col. Rhodes flies his team to a replica of the Laotian labor camp, built by Harry outside Galveston, Texas. Their trainer is Kevin Scott, a youthful former United States Marine, skilled in the use of modern weapons. As training begins the following day, the combat veterans grow resentful of Kevin, who treats them like new recruits. Col. Rhodes advises Kevin to show the men respect and they will reciprocate. Over time, Col. Rhodes learns that Wilkes suffers from claustrophobia after being trapped in a collapsed tunnel with the bodies of the Vietnamese mother and son he accidentally killed. Sailor’s resentment toward Kevin results in a fistfight, with the veteran soldier as the victor. When Sailor demands an explanation of Kevin’s interest in the mission, the young man reveals that his father is also missing in action. Meanwhile, Harry MacGregor argues the merits of the expedition with Senator Hastings, who demands that it be cancelled. Harry defies the senator, even when his company is threatened with government harassment. As training nears completion, the team enacts the rescue plan in under three minutes, using live ammunition, and destroys the model prison camp. Harry MacGregor observes the exercise and rewards each of the soldiers a cash bonus. Later, when the soldiers arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, their weapons are confiscated by police. They steal a truck and drive to the northern part of the country, where they pool their bonus money and purchase weapons with the help of Jiang, an opium dealer. Jiang joins the expedition, accompanied by his two daughters, Lai Fun and Mai Ling. As they approach the Laotian border, armed guards attempt to confiscate their cargo, resulting in an exchange of gunfire. Mai Ling and the border guards are killed, and Jiang interrupts the journey to bury his daughter. Upon reaching the labor camp, Wilkes enters through a drainage pipe and finds four Americans among the prisoners. That evening, Blaster places explosive charges outside the camp, while Col. Rhodes, Charts, and Johnson commandeer three helicopters from a nearby military base. The invasion begins at sunrise, and although the prisoners are freed, their escape is delayed by the destruction of two of the helicopters. When some of the explosives fail to detonate, Blaster sets them off with gunfire, and is killed in the resulting explosion. Jiang is killed as well, and Sailor sacrifices himself to ensure his comrades’ escape. As the helicopter flies toward Bangkok, MacGregor informs Col. Rhodes of Frank’s recent death from illness. The expedition returns to the United States, and news media are on hand as the four soldiers are reunited with their families.