Political upheaval has swept through Nigeria and ethnic cleansing has become rampant. Accordingly, Captain Bill Rhodes (TOM SKERRITT) of the air craft carrier Harry Truman has assigned Navy SEAL commander Lieutenant A.K. Waters (BRUCE WILLIS) and his crew to find and extract foreign aid worker Dr. Lena Kendricks (MONICA BELLUCCI) along with two nuns and a priest from a jungle-based mission.
After parachuting into the jungle, Waters and his crew -- Jason "Flea" Mabry (CHAD SMITH), Danny "Doc" Kelley (PAUL FRANCIS), Kelly Lake (JOHNNY MESSNER), Michael "Slo" Slowenski (NICK CHINLUND), James "Red" Atkins (COLE HAUSER), Demetrius "Silk" Owens (CHARLES INGRAM) and Ellis "Zee" Pettigrew (EAMONN WALKER) - find Kendricks and the others, but none of them wish to leave their patients.
Concerned about approaching guerilla militia, Waters makes the decision to inform Kendricks that they can take any ambulatory ones with them and thus head off through the jungle with the likes of Patience (AKOSUA BUSIA), Arthur Azuka (SAMMI ROTIBI) and Gideon (JIMMY JEAN-LOUIS). Yet, when they get to the pickup point many miles away, Waters informs Kendricks that they're only taking her, much to her protest.
Heading back to the carrier, however, and upon seeing a massacre at the mission, Waters has a change of heart and returns to the stranded villagers. Since the choppers can only take a small number of them to safety, Waters and his team must escort Kendricks and the remaining villagers to the border of Cameroon.
As they make their way through the jungle and witness firsthand the atrocities of the rampant and unchecked ethnic cleansing, Waters and his team disobey orders and engage the enemy. They also soon realize that a growing number of guerilla forces are rapidly closing in on them. From that point on, they try to get everyone to the border as quickly and safely as possible, all while repeatedly tangling with the local militia.