During the Vietnamese war, US pilot Jake Robbins (Kris Kristofferson) was presumed dead after being shot down in action. In fact he was nursed back to health by Khmer Rouge peasant Leang, with whom he fell in love and started a family. However, when his American citizenship is discovered Jake is shipped back to the States, to be reunited with his wife of seventeen years before, Sarah (JoBeth Williams), who has now remarried. Desperate to return to Leang, Jake is forced to realize the effect his return has had on his old family, including his father and teenage son.