Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy and Tommy Lee Jones star in this political thriller. US Army Sergeant Johnny Gallagher (Hackman) has been assigned to take a court-martialled serviceman back to the States. However, the deserter, Thomas Boyette (Jones), escapes and takes on a new identity. With the help of his ex-wife (Cassidy), Gallagher sets out on his own investigation, stumbling upon a conspiracy which reaches the highest echelons of the American forces.