On October 3, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, an American task force composed of Army Rangers and Delta Force operators launches an operation to capture several senior members of warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid's militia. Expected to last less than an hour, the mission descends into chaos when the soldiers come under heavy fire and two Black Hawk helicopters are shot down. Scattered across a hostile city, the American troops find themselves trapped, forced to defend their positions and rescue their comrades in a battle that continues into the following day.