On the day of his retirement, a veteran CIA agent learns that his former protégé has been arrested in China, is sentenced to die the next morning in Beijing, and that the CIA is considering letting that happen to avoid an international scandal.

As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

A group of unemployed friends, who never do much more than sweat the small stuff, are tempted by the golden opportunity to share £200,000 in exchange for a little hard graft and a touch of nerve, in a race against the clock.