South Vietnam, 1968. Thanks to the bungling of a new American general, the Viet Cong hear that the residents of a small Vietnamese village have befriended U.S. soldiers stationed nearby. As punishment for this infraction, the North Vietnamese army kills their town's prized elephant just before an important ceremony in which the animal plays an important role. Captain Sam Cahill decides that the Americans had better replace the dead elephant if they want to keep the villagers' trust, so he promises to deliver a new pachyderm before the celebration begins. His own troops believe that this is an impossible, ridiculous and far-fetched idea. However, Cahill is confident he won't betray the waiting townspeople, and when his troop discovers a beautiful elephant in a remote jungle village, he's only got one problem: how to deliver the weighty goods.