At a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a pugilistic private is cruelly punished for refusing to join his unit's boxing team. Meanwhile, his commanding officer's wife and top NCO are indulging in a torrid love affair.
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.