Three friends from a small Pennsylvania town are drafted to serve in Vietnam, and their lives are forever changed. Michael (Robert DeNiro) and Nick (Christopher Walken) work in a local steel mill, each wooing Linda's (Meryl Streep) affections. Steven (John Savage) has just gotten married. The three friends regularly hunt deer through the mountains of Pennsylvania, with non-enlisted Axel (Chuck Aspegren) and the snide Stanley (John Cazale). While Axel and Stanley lead traditional lives at home, Michael, Nick and Steven encounter brutal and shocking circumstances while at war. These experiences not only change their perceptions of the hunt, but their perspectives on life in whole.