Young Jack Russell befriends a loner named Ronnie and develops him into a stellar athlete. After 9/11 the two of them quit their promising college careers to join the Marine Corps. Due to his speed and strength, Ronnie excels in the Marine RECON and gets "in front of them all." Due to his sky-high test scores, Jack is recruited as a jet mechanic. But every Marine is a rifleman, and Jack's team launches from an aircraft carrier to go deep into Iraq. The base is attacked and Jack has to muster every skill he ever learned in a desperate fight to save his life and that of his friends. While Jack is in Iraq his friends who stayed back in the States finish college and start careers. Jack gets home to a typical town and walks into a gun battle that is anything but typical. In the service, Jack's leaders do everything they can to develop and recognize young talent. In contrast to this, in his hometown in the company where Jack used to work the C.E.O. says "The peons exist to make me rich." When someone gets in the big guy's way, the shooting begins.