Danny, Mike and Hibbs, friends in the same army regiment, have their own very different reasons to return: Danny sees rich financial pickings in private security work, in a land awash with billions of dollars of reconstruction money, Mike has fallen in love with Iraqi doctor Aliyah, and Hibbs goes back because he believes in the mission to rebuild the country and help the Iraqi people. Life in the new Iraq however is unpredictable, chaotic and dangerous. Over the course of five years, the friendship of the three men comes under fierce pressure, as they pursue their dreams against the backdrop of growing fundamentalism, sectarian violence, and corruption in the world of privatized security.