In the near future, Russian rebels have taken over one of the ICBM bases in the USSR. Alarmed by the prospect of a rebel strike, the U.S. sends the U.S.S. Alabama, a nuclear ballistic submarine, to watch over the base and retaliate in case they launch. While on patrol, the submarine is attacked and the radio systems are knocked out. An emergency message received during the battle is only partially recovered. Captain Ramsey believes it to be the order to launch on the rebels, while XO Hunter wants to wait for a confirmation message. The conflict escalates into mutiny as Ramsey and Hunter fight for control of the Alabama’s nuclear missiles.

After various skirmishes, two wounded soldiers, one Bosnian and one Serb, confront each other in a trench in the no man’s land between their lines. They wait for dark, trading insults and even finding some common ground; sometimes one has the gun, sometimes the other, sometimes both. Things get complicated when another wounded Bosnian comes to, but can’t move because a bouncing mine is beneath him. The two men cooperate to wave white flags, their lines call the UN (whose high command tries not to help), an English reporter shows up, a French sergeant shows courage, and the three men in no man’s land may or may not find a way to all get along.

WWII. Joe Enders, a decorated Marine who is by-the-book to a fault, is just coming back on duty (by cheating on his medical tests). “Ox” Anderson, much greener, is also getting the same new task: Protect the Navajo codetalkers (Ben Yahzee and Charles Whitehorse, respectively). While Enders is initially frustrated with his assignment, his respect grows as the codetalkers prove their worth in the brutal battle to take Saipan.

In World War II, the outcome of the battle of Guadalcanal will strongly influence the Japanese’s advance into the pacific. A group of young soldiers is brought in as a relief for the battle-weary Marine units. The exhausting fight for a key-positioned airfield that allows control over a 1000-mile radius puts the men of the Army Rifle company C-for-Charlie through hell. The horrors of war forms the soldiers into a tight-knit group, their emotions develop into bonds of love and even family. The reasons for this war get further away as the world for the men gets smaller and smaller until their fighting is for mere survival and the life of the other men with them.