It is November 1992 and the US Navy is preparing to surrender its largest overseas facility at Subic Bay, Philippines, after almost a century. For both countries, and for the navy, it is a time of change. With manpower low US Navy SEALS are helping protect the base, including William Hawk, John Stryzack and Paul Bladon headed by Commander Hamilton. Olongapo City, beside the base faces an uncertain future. Lisa Velasquez is part of the local Mayor’s team that wants to turn the base into a new city. Emma Salazar, a one-time bar-girl now engaged to marry Bladon, sees her own future under threat with the impending arrival of Bladon’s senator father, and Bladon’s American girlfriend, Angela. For Hawk, the quiet, thoughtful professional on his last tour it is a time of decision and he finds himself in conflict with the prickly Lisa. Lisa herself is facing the abandonment of her mother, Anna by her American stepfather, Ed Johnson. Emma’s innocent sister, Maria arrives unexpectedly planning to find herself an American boyfriend, to Lisa’s dismay. A tragic incident during a beach party leads to an investigation by Special Agent Danzig of the Naval Investigative Service and her opposite number, Jess Santiago. Meanwhile, Stryzack is brooding over what he believes is a betrayal of America. Under arrest, he escapes from prison, sworn to assassinate the symbol of America’s betrayal, Senator James Bladon.