It's October 1993 and U.S. military forces have remained in Somalia as part of a peacekeeping operation in response to the food hoarding measures taken by Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid that have left more than 300,000 people dead. As run by Maj. Gen. William F. Garrison (SAM SHEPARD), the forces - comprised of young Army Rangers and veteran Delta Force soldiers - set out on a mission to seize two of Aidid's lieutenants from a crowded marketplace in the capital city of Mogadishu.
Among those heading out are Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann (JOSH HARTNETT), an idealistic Ranger who's just been placed in command of his unit; Ranger Spec. Grimes (EWAN McGREGOR), a desk clerk who has yet to see any combat; and Lt. Col. Danny McKnight (TOM SIZEMORE), a veteran who isn't crazy about the limited support they'll receive. They're led by Capt. Mike Steele (JASON ISAACS), their ground commander, and accompanied by the likes of Staff Sgt. Jeff Struecker (BRIAN VAN HOLT), Ranger Pvt. First Class Todd Blackburn (ORLANDO BLOOM), and Specs. Shawn Nelson (EWEN BREMNER) and Lance Twombly (THOMAS HARDY).
Representing the Delta unit is Sgt. First Class Hoot Gibson (ERIC BANA), whose legendary status precedes him, along with Sgt. Jeff Sanderson (WILLIAM FICHTNER) and Delta snipers Sgt. First Class Randy Shughart (JOHNNY STRONG) and Master Sgt. Gary Gordon (NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU).
Their plan is to sweep into the city, seize their two targets and avoid the heavily armed locals, all in under an hour. Yet, things quickly go out of control when Blackburn falls from one of the choppers, setting off a chain of disastrous events that include two of the Black Hawk helicopters piloted by Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant (RON ELDARD) and Chief Warrant Officer Cliff Wolcott (JEREMY PIVEN) being shot down.
From that point on, and as Garrison observes from his command post, the various American soldiers try to get to the crash sites, rescue their injured men, and get out of the city as hordes of armed citizens close in and open fire on them over the next two days.