Bruce Becker, petroleum engineer takes a job in Kuwait as job opportunities at home in the US disappear. He is taken hostage and is used as part of the "Human Shield" prior to the first Iraq war. The real drama unfolds back at home as his wife and daughter struggle to come to terms with their rocky and often tempestuous relationship against the backdrop of their despair over the kidnapping of Bruce. The decision of the daughter, Jill, to get involved in drug trafficking almost leads to fatal consequences just as Bruce is to be released and brought home to them.