In the midst of a deteriorating war in 1967 a senior CIA operative seeking to rearm the Mekong Delta's anti-communist Buddhists in the hopes of transforming a failing military strategy is killed under mysterious circumstances.

This changes everything for Navy Commander Michael Teague who was about to work with the Buddhists who'd been disarmed over a decade ago by Saigon.

Within hours of the death of the CIA operative, Teague is recruited to lead the clandestine mission, code named The Third Force, knowing the secret operation to rearm the Buddhists is opposed by Saigon and MACV. By taking the assignment he accepts that it could cost him his career and might well trigger a major, bloody war-within-the-war in the jungles of the Mekong Delta.

With the support of the powerful young female Buddhist leader, Thi Xam, the operation grows and spreads. Its success triggers an explosive conflict between the CIA backed Buddhists and Saigon's Special Forces who are supported by the American military command led by Colonel Stennride, to put an end to the Buddhist rebellion and continue with a strategy of body count.