Set in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan, three men from different backgrounds come together for their own individual purposes: to gain fortune, honor and freedom In 1979, the communist government of Afghanistan asked the Soviet Union for help in putting down an insurgency made up of poorly equipped civilians. In December of that year, the Red Army invaded the country, using Kabul as their headquarters. Almost immediately, many countries around the world began to send aid to the beleaguered nation, military or humanitarian, financial or logistical. By 1983, the anti-communist rebels had begun using less conventional means to finance the war with their militarily superior occupiers.