A Marine Corps drill instructor who is disgusted by the fact that the Corps now accepts draftees finds himself pitted against a hippie who has been drafted but refuses to accept the military's way of doing things.

The real-life story of Charles Whitman's deadly shooting spree at the University of Texas is retold. In August 1966, after killing his wife and mother, Whitman climbed to the top of the school's tower and opened fire on passers-by, killing 13 and wounding many others.