As Will Ramsey's mother hugs her son as if it were for the last time, her thin bony arms feel like angel's wings. Will, a farm boy from Minnesota, loads his bag into the trunk of a 1942 Buick and waves to his mother. With his best friend at the wheel and another good friend in the passenger seat, Will leaves to join the army during World War II. As the three men enter basic training, they endure emotional torture instigated by Drill Sergeant Griggs, notorious for being tough on new soldiers. But when Will is selected for special assignment, he leaves his friends and only remaining ties to home behind. He then falls under the command of Captain Stapey, and along with his new squad soon learns to respect the man in charge of keeping all of them alive. The squad travels to Germany to join the fight. Early in their first mission, however, Will is captured by the Nazis, and he realizes the ramifications of his decision to leave home. He and his squad are in a fight for survival; and, as he emerges from the Nazi torture with newfound powers, his fate is sealed in ways he never imagined. As Will becomes entangled in a twisted adventure filled with fear, deceit, and murder, he must rely on his inner strength in order to end one man's reign of terror.