Fourth generation war hero Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis) is imprisoned in a brutal German POW camp. Still, as the camp's highest-ranking American officer, he commands his fellow inmates, keeping a sense of honor alive in a place where honor is easy to destroy, all under the dangerous, ever-watchful eye of SS Major Wilhelm Visser (Marcel Iures). Never giving up the fight to win the war, he is silently planning, waiting for his moment to strike back at the enemy. A murder in the camp gives him the chance to set a risky plan in motion. With a court martial to keep Visser and the Germans distracted, McNamara orchestrates a cunning scheme to escape and destroy a nearby munitions plant, enlisting the help of young Lt. Tommy Hart (Colin Farrell). Together with his men, McNamara uses a hero's resolve to carry out his mission, ultimately forced to weigh the value of his life against the good of his country.