Fred Ball, the American Secretary of State, is kidnapped in Belize. American Special Forces attempt a rescue. The small but elite group of highly trained soldiers must overcome the difficulties of terrain, politics, mercenaries, and a nefarious plot hatched by various individuals in the governments of Mexico and Guatemala. A very powerful drug lord complicates the rescue by enlisting the services of a Belizean bandit, who, in turn, is set upon by both Mexican and Guatemalan soldiers. Washington and its politics are drawn into the maelstrom that Latin America becomes as a result of the kidnapping. Fred Ball survives numerous firefights, a brutal trek through the jungle and a helicopter crash.