Desperate for a final sexual encounter before he goes off to war, Sgt. Tony Meserve (Sean Penn) is furious at being refused permission to seek the services of a prostitute. Meserve finds a solution by involving some of the men from his platoon in the kidnapping of a young Vietnamese woman. The victim is subsequently gang raped and murdered by the men which leads to a division of those for and those against the hideous crime. PFC Eriksson (Michael J Fox) is more appalled than others at the behaviour of his fellow soldiers which provides a platform form high tension in an already unforgiving environment.