The film tells the story of a young Viet Cong fighter and his family in the Mekong delta in Vietnam during the war with America. The fighter and his family live in a primitive dwelling set on stilts above the marshy land. When not being bothered by US helicopter gunships, they try to establish an existence fishing and farming. One of the ways they assist in the war effort is to grow food for the north Vietnamese soldiers, fighting at some distance from their home. The Americans find out about this couple and start to search them out - particularly one American lieutenant who is single-minded in his determination to kill them. One day, the Vietnamese man gets surprised by a helicopter and can’t avoid the following battle.