A grunt's view of the Vietnam War is provided in all its horrific, inexplicable detail. Follows young Chris Taylor who arrives in Vietnam and quickly discovers that his worst enemies are not just the Viet Cong, but gnawing fear, physical exhaustion, and the anger growing within himself.

A basketball coach with a checkered past becomes the new coach of the underdog high school basketball team in a 1951 sleepy Indiana farm town, using methods that infuriate the townspeople.