The book is divided into four sections. The first concerns the firefight where five American Soldiers are stranded in a Landing Zone. No helicopters were planned to return after the pickup helicopter aborted its mission. The men were captured and became prisoners of war. The second is the approval for the rescue mission, the recruiting, and the planning. The third phase is the search to find a Prisoner of War Compound in three countries-Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Laos. Two were found but were empty. The third was discovered in Laos where the prisoners were held. The fourth phase of the book is the journey through Laos and Cambodia on their way to Thailand and safety.

The story begins with a platoon entering a landing zone awaiting transportation back to their base camp. While waiting, the North Vietnamese Army surrounded the LZ, covering it with intense rifle fire, automated weapons, grenades, and mortars. When the first helicopter arrived the NVA focused their fire on the helicopter. The first squad ran to it, jumped on the rails, and embarked successfully. The second helicopter provided covering fire for the first, and then landed to pick up the next squad under heavy fire. All but two members of the squad made it to the "chopper." The third helicopter placed covering fire for the second helicopter, but its rotor was heavily damaged by the NVA fire causing it to abort its mission. The third squad was left in the landing zone with little ammunition left to fight.