Based on a true story, middle aged Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton (Gene Hackman), a military strategist has spent his entire career in the air or behind a desk. Acting on reports that a major North Vietnamese offensive is mobilizing, Iceal goes up in a bomber to take a look, but the plane is hit over enemy territory and Iceal is the only survivor. Alone in the jungle, with no infantry training and only a minimum of survival gear, he is contacted by radio by Capt. Bartholomew Clark (Danny Glover) who becomes obsessed with Iceal’s rescue.