Bravo Co. is transferred to the Tan Son Nhut Base near Saigon. Zeke and Goldman find one of their men in an opium den, where they meet a female reporter, Alex Devlin, and a chopper pilot, Lieutenant Johnny McKay.

As Goldman begins a relationship with Alex, Purcell becomes fed up with war and Ruiz is convinced that he is going to die. Johnson and Taylor check on a soldier, who may be faking his death.

Zeke goes to the hospital and ends up saving the life of psychiatrist Jennifer Seymour. But his budding relationship with Seymour is affected when he betrays her confidence in order to clear Taylor of a crime.

Against Seymour's wishes, a soldier who has suffered a breakdown is sent back to the front and almost gets himself killed. Johnson meets up with Ling, who says she is pregnant with his child.

McKay picks up the squad in his chopper, but, while rushing them back, Major Darling redirects him after some Viet Cong (VC). When Darling refuses McKay's request to fly back with the wounded, McKay does it anyway and is grounded.

During a mine sweeping patrol, the platoon becomes pinned down by a sniper. The sniper is killed by Sergeant Block, a sniper himself. In a follow-up counter sniper mission, it becomes clear that Block enjoys the killing and collects trophies. Anderson realises that Block is losing it and tries to make a deal to get him promoted and returned to the U.S.

The platoon is frustrated with the policy of not being allowed to pursue the enemy into Cambodia. Private Taft is hard hit when a fatally wounded friend begs him to kill him. Taft crosses the border to get revenge. Alex Devlin is interviewing an American businessman, who just obtained a fat government construction contract, much to the annoyance of Goldman. Taylor and Purcell find themselves in a lot of trouble in the wrong part of town.

Bravo Co. is training Regional Popular Forces and taking them on patrols. When confronted by a large North Vietnamese Army (NVA) force, the "Ruff-Puffs" do something unexpected. Alex Devlin is dropped off by McKay into a nearby hamlet for a story, but, when he comes to pick her up again, the village is torched and Alex is missing.

Taylor's wheeling and dealing abilities are put to test as he is putting together an Army vs. Air Force boxing match. Soldier Thayer is accused of being a homosexual and attempts a suicide; it is up to Dr. Seymour to pick up the pieces, just when she and Anderson are about to go to Tokyo, where Anderson is planning to propose marriage to her. To complicate matters, Dr. Seymour has been offered a military commission in the U.S. with the rank of Major.

McKay drops off Bravo Co. to retrieve the bodies of an overrun platoon. The squad comes under attack, the VC retreat, and Bravo gives chase. In a deserted village, it comes to a shootout, with the VC winding up dead. In the village, the men encounter a Quaker woman, who baffles them not only with her presence but also her philosophies. Purcell takes an interest in her, which becomes his undoing, as he saves her from being raped and faces homicide charges after she refuses to let go of her principles and testify that Purcell's action was self-defence. In the meantime, Mckay's helicopter is shot down; hurt and alone he must escape his attackers. The Army is about ready to list him as MIA, but Goldman is not.

The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. creates racial tension both in the U.S. and Vietnam. While Zeke is escorting the body of his black friend Sergeant Art Binion back to the U.S. on request of Binion's wife, Lieutenant Goldman and Lieutenant Douglas are struggling to keep their platoons together in different ways. After Douglas forces his men to follow an absurd order, he becomes the target of a "fragging". Zeke holds a moving speech during his friend's funeral in his home country, which is torn by political and racial turmoil.

Special Forces Sergeant Jackson's PX card shows up in the hands of a Vietnamese woman; Alex goes to find the woman in Saigon, while Zeke and Goldman are tasked in tracking down Jackson in the jungle. Not an easy job, since the VC has a strong presence and seem to know every step the Americans make. Combat tracker Roselli, who just became a father, gets a helping hand from Purcell and Taylor in obtaining a safe, rear echelon job.

Newbie Cassidy, with his lousy performance and racist remarks, isn't popular, yet Goldman covers for him. Zeke is thinking about returning to the U.S. after his next promotion, but he has doubts about what to do then and what awaits him. A string of serial murders on prostitutes points to Cassidy, but Alex Devlin has doubts.

Zeke is helping Chrissie Pearson build a classroom to teach soldiers American literature and what civilian job opportunities there are when they return to the United States. Zeke runs into an old friend (Jim Doyle), who is also there to talk about a different kind of job, namely with private military companies. Anderson is at a crossroad, and he knows that he has got to make some choices. Amidst all this, Zeke and Goldman assist a Navy SEAL in the retrieval of documents from a downed helicopter. The SEALs irregular warfare raises some eyebrows.

In the middle of the jungle, the platoon runs into Jim Doyle (a CIA friend of Zeke) and two crates with new Russian sniper rifles. Doyle claims it is a coincidence that they meet, claiming his contact failed to show up. On the way to the landing zone (LZ), they get ambushed by Montagnards, who are supposed to be friendly. Back at base, Goldman and Zeke start poking around in Doyle's spooky/shady dealings.

Supplies from the PX continuously wind up on the streets of Saigon. Lieutenant Camilla Patterson is in charge of the investigation, aided by Taylor. Desk clerk Sweet (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) is eager for combat and convinces Anderson to accept him into the platoon. During the next reconnaissance, the squad encounters a regiment of NVA and makes a hasty retreat. In the chaos, Zeke and Goldman are left behind; about to be overrun, they have no other option than to call in an artillery strike on their own position.