When a crowd of protesters surrounds the US Embassy in Yemen, Colonel Terry Childers (Jackson) of the US Marine Corps leads a squadron of Marines to boost security.

He has orders to evacuate the ambassador (Kingsley) and his family if the situation turns violent.

A few hours later and the ambassador's safety is secured, but three of Childers' men are dead, along with more than 80 Yemeni men, women and children killed by Marine gunfire.

Childers now faces a court-martial for violating the rules of engagement by killing unarmed civilians.

He denies the charge, claiming the protesters were armed and had opened fire on the Embassy.

It seems as though the government has made a scapegoat of the colonel in order to cover an ugly diplomatic crisis.

This leaves Childers in a sticky situation as the men who could have testified on his behalf have all been killed in action.

To add to his troubles, one of the witnesses seems to be lying, and the President's National Security Adviser (Bruce Greenwood) destroys evidence that might help his case.

Childers refuses to go down without a fight and he turns to his fellow comrade-in-arms and long-time friend, Hays Hodges (Jones), to defend him.

Hodges is in no position to decline, as he owes his life to Childers, who heroically saved him back in Vietnam.

William Friedkin, the man responsible for bringing the infamous shocker The Exorcist to the screen, directs this captivating courtroom drama.