A young pilot finds himself recruited into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift organization operating in Vietnam War Era Laos.

When renegade pilot Billy Covington (Robert Downey Jr., 'Iron Man') finds himself all but blacklisted from flying in the United States, his last hope for work lies with Air America, a tiny, nondescript airline running in the jungles of Laos. But Billy soon discovers that Air America isn't just any airline - it's actually a covert CIA operation with the task of smuggling some dubious cargo across Southeast Asia. Soon Billy realizes that his only hope of getting out of Laos alive may be to align himself with another pilot, the wild and dangerous veteran Gene Ryack (Mel Gibson) - if Gene doesn't get them both killed first!