In 1993, amid the chaos of the Somali Civil War, an elite group of American soldiers from the Delta Force, the 75th Rangers, and the 160th SOAR are dispatched on a critical mission in the capital city of Mogadishu. Their objective is to capture two top lieutenants of the Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, who has been hindering the United Nations' humanitarian efforts by seizing international food shipments meant for the starving population. The mission is planned as a swift and precise raid, with the soldiers intending to infiltrate the city, apprehend their targets, and return to their base within the hour.

The operation, initially seeming straightforward, quickly unravels when one of their Black Hawk helicopters is shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. With the crash of the helicopter, the mission's objective changes from capture to rescue. The soldiers find themselves in an intense urban warfare situation, surrounded by hostile Somali militia and civilians. Trapped in the hostile district of the city and with their escape route cut off, they must defend their positions and fight for survival while facing overwhelming odds and a ferocious enemy.