[4] Director Kim Sang-hwi remarked that the series is not about the ideologies of South and North Korea, but rather focuses on the struggles of ordinary people who lived through the war.
Sergeant First Class Lee Hyun-joong (Choi Soo-jong) leads his squad forward into the city and not long afterwards the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) captures the capital.
Major General Yong Park (Lee Deok-hwa) is elated by his Division's involvement in capturing the Communist stronghold.
Meanwhile, KPA Lieutenant Lee Soo-kyung (Lee Tae-ran) and Sergeant Cheon Yong-taek (Kim Myeong Su) escape with retreating elements of the shattered People's Army and regroup with a growing deployment of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops.
Lee's 1st squad, Eagle Company, is resting in a home billeted for their use when they receive word of a massive PLA invasion force headed their way.
Despite building trench fortifications and bravely fighting the waves of PLA and KPA troops they are forced to retreat due to lack of supplies and ammunition.
The series progresses with sub-plots that involve a rescue of General Park who is captured by deserting ROK soldier, Cheon Song-il (Jung Tae-woo).
Yong-taek's humanity begins to show as he continues to look after Song-il and maintaining a chivalrousness attitude even towards his enemies.
Woncheol, who beats Song-il for cowardliness and is openly suspicious of Lt. Lee's alleged collusion with the enemy.
Their Special-Ops unit is soon assigned to shoot PLA and KPA deserters which takes a toll on Song-il who becomes even more disgusted with war.
General Park is forced to send the boys who rescued him back behind enemy lines.
It is revealed that the encampment in which he was imprisoned for a short while was a series of caves which contained a vital base of supplies for the communist armies.
They are ordered to escort a ROK Marine unit in charge of sabotaging the supply base, however Pvt.
Yang Sanggil (Hong Kyoung In) goes AWOL to find his mother who lives in a village on the way to their destination.
Choi Dan-Young (Lee Chae-young), an uncompromising yet beautiful female Marine who goes into hiding but only after watching her sister and fellow-Marine die.
Again infiltrating into enemy territory they again enlist the help of Jung-hwa and her gang but most of the guerrillas are killed and their base destroyed after Comrade Woncheol employs ruthless tactics.
Lt. Lee survives, however, thanks to the concern of Comrade Yong-taek and Song-il (who is back with the KPA after being exchanged for Pvt.
The camp is run by a female state agent, Yoon Jeongin, who manipulates the prisoners to turn on themselves for her entertainment.
The camp director and the state agent in-charge have set up brutal boxing matches to entertain themselves and the men.
Kim Beom-woo (Ahn Yong Joon) and Jung Taeksu (Lee Seung-hyo) look for a way to break out their squadmates.
Lee reminds Agent Yoon, "War is not just a game where you slaughter all your enemies, it is the struggle to remain human even while holding a gun in your hand".
Lee's 1st squad, but they end up helping the POWs and the prisoners break out, killing the KPA guards in the process.
Park, who joined the KPA as a medic) is taken and interrogated by ROK intelligence for possible collusion with the communists.
Like most interrogation tactics our heroes are not given any breathing room and under threat that his squad would be executed if he did not confess, Sgt.
1st squad is again fighting for Eagle company and their platoon (2nd pltn) is assigned to hold a bridge at all costs.
At that moment, ROKA reinforcements from Eagle company arrive and the North Koreans disperse.
Park, now working as a medic for the KPA, refuses to leave ROKA wounded untreated.
A North Korean General surrenders and Eagle Company soldiers are assigned to escort him to the rear of the ROKA lines.
Lee returns amid the new recruits of Eagle company, marching to the front, undoubtedly to fight in the stalemate along the 38th parallel until the armistice that halted combat operations.