A semi-fictionalized account of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-African-American Air Force squadron during World War II, the film centers on ambitious young pilot Hannibal Lee (Laurence Fishburne). Despite initial reticence by higher ranking white officers, Lee, along with Walter Peoples (Allen Payne), Leroy Cappy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), and others, are deployed into combat. As the successful missions mount, the Tuskegee Airmen develop a reputation as an able, fearsome group of pilots.